JCPS board calls special meeting to vote on transportation plan

The Jefferson County Board of Education will have a special meeting Wednesday to vote on how to change the district's transportation system ahead of next school year.

The meeting was requested by board members Linda Duncan, Chris Kolb and Joe Marshall, according to the announcement sent by district spokeswoman Carolyn Callahan just after 4 p.m. Tuesday - slightly more than 24 hours before the meeting.

The agenda shows the board will vote on a transportation plan, though it doesn't specify whether the board will be voting on the plan proposed by district leaders during the last board meeting, which would eliminate busing for magnet students.

When asked what the vote will be on, Callahan referred the question to board members, indicating district leaders didn't know the board would call a special meeting until shortly before the announcement was sent out.

"No transportation for magnet/traditional (students) remains what the district feels is the best option," Callahan said. "Ultimately, the board makes the decision."

When asked if this is the plan the board will be voting on, Kolb said it is his understanding that that is one option that will be presented, along with others.

District 7's Sarah McIntosh said she has not seen the plan in writing but that generally the plan is to cut magnet transportation with some possible tweaks.

"There will also be changes to some start times to accommodate the revised plan and alleviate major traffic congestion in areas with multiple schools in close proximity," McIntosh said.

The board was meant to vote on this measure during its March 26 meeting and the majority of board members had indicated they would vote in favor of ending magnet transportation. The change would impact about 16,000 students across the system but would likely be more detrimental to schools in west Louisville, according to an analysis of bus rider demographics by The Courier Journal.

The board instead voted to postpone the decision after a scathing presentation from the founder of Prismatic Services, which investigated the district's first day of school busing disaster.

Tatia Prieto, Prismatic's founder, reviewed the 248-page investigative report at that meeting and told board members that if she were in their position, she would hold off on making a major decision like ending magnet transportation.

At the time, six board members voted in favor of delaying a vote, while District 3's James Craig argued there wasn't time left. The board wasn't scheduled to meet again until April 16.

After the vote, Chief Operations Officer Rob Fulk sent a letter to board members that said some of Prieto's comments were false, that board members should listen to transportation leaders' insistence that magnet busing has to be cut due to the driver shortage and that further delay would cause issues.

The letter swayed at least one board member, with Kolb saying Prieto put the board in a "contradictory position."

"The main takeaway from the audit is that we really screwed up by not involving transportation personnel more deeply in the planning last year and now we have transportation telling us (to cut magnet transportation) and that is in direct contradiction to what the auditor is telling us," Kolb said.

"Either we do what she says and listen to transportation, or we don’t listen to transportation and instead listen to her," he continued.

Gail Strange, who represents schools in west Louisville, is expected to vote against ending all magnet transportation.

"I am not for taking transportation completely away from traditional and magnet school students," she told The Courier Journal Tuesday.

"I just hope that we would really spend the time and energy to be creative ... because we only have one opportunity to get it right," she said.

The board will meet at 6 p.m. at the Van Hoose Center, 3332 Newburg Road.

Contact Krista Johnson at kjohnson3@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: JCPS board calls special meeting to vote on transportation plan