Some students at magnet and traditional schools in Jefferson County Public Schools are getting their bus stops back this month.
JCPS says about 1,000 students are getting their bus stops reinstated on March 17. Their parents opted-out of the stipends for driving these kids.
Kentucky law allows a school bus stop to be up to a mile away from a student’s home. While the Collins family is excited for their daughter, Emma, to have a bus again, her 10 minute walk wasn’t ideal.
JCPS assigned Emma Collins a bus stop on a road without consistent sidewalks, so at some points she would be walking right next to cars. A little further into the walk, she would have to cross New Cut Road all by herself.
“It was unsafe,” Berkley Collins, Emma’s mother, said. “Incredibly unsafe. It’s not that I don’t trust her. I don’t trust other people being unable to see her. I can’t be with her because I have to be in the car line to pick up her sister.”
After making some phone calls to Johnson Traditional Middle School and the bus compounds, Berkley was able to get Emma’s stop changed. It’s now much closer to home and doesn’t cross a busy intersection.
“It’s amazing for JCPS to act as quickly as they did to get it fixed,” Berkley said. “I have no complaints. It’s going to be the routine that she had before. She’s going to know people.”
Berkley finds comfort in knowing Emma already knows her bus driver and walking path. She’s also thrilled to have the bus option back because driving two kids to two different schools each day has been a challenge.
“It’s now more realistic for me to get an actual corporate job again, instead of just doing what I’ve been doing with the two different self-employed businesses,” she said. “I’m happy that some parents were able to actually get the stops reinstated. It took a lot of us out of our routine and out of our schedule.”
JCPS encourages other parents to call the hotline 485-RIDE if they have bus stop issues.
“We have received a handful of concerns and, as always, are working with those families to ensure their student has a safe bus stop,” JCPS spokesperson Mark Hebert said in a statement. “We have already made some adjustments to bus stops for those families who have called the hotline. Bus stop assignments for next school year will be communicated in the summer.”
You can find your student’s specific bus stop location by using the JCPS bus transportation portal, Bus Teller, on the district’s website.
Credit: Reyna Katko/WDRB-Louisville
