LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The narrow vote by the Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) Board of Education to cut bus transportation for the majority of magnet and traditional school kids isn't sitting well with some former educators.
Dr. Michelle Pennix, a JCPS principal for more than 20 years, called the Board's decision both illegal and immoral, even predicting legal action from the community.
"This is going to be in a courthouse sooner than later," she told WHAS11 News on Thursday. "I don't think families in our community are going to stand for students at one particular school being favored over students at another."
The Board's plan will preserve bus service for high schools that primarily serve economically disadvantaged students, setting a threshold at 75% of kids on free or reduced lunch. The district said that currently applies to Central High School and Western High School -- which will become a full magnet school in the fall.
"I think communication and transparency are the biggest issues," Pennix said.
Pennix and other advocates for educational equity were disappointed by the decision of three Board members to call a special meeting to vote on a new transportation plan, with one day's notice, rather than wait until April 16 when the issue was supposed to be discussed.
At Wednesday's meeting, board member James Craig preached urgency to the crowd, saying a decision needed to be made that night to give the district's transportation department enough time to finalize effective routes for the 2024-25 school year.
"And continuing to go back and go back until we can find something that makes everyone happy -- I wish we could, I hate this vote," Craig said. "I do not want the kids at any of our schools to suffer, but we are making them suffer today if we don't do something about it."
Those in support of the plan said cutting down on the countless instructional minutes lost to late buses is the priority and the most equitable path forward.
"It is just a decision that there are no good options for and I wish I didn't have to make," JCPS Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio said Wednesday.
Pennix worried how neighborhood schools in west Louisville will handle an expected influx of kids -- those unable to travel to a magnet or traditional school farther from home.
"When you think about more students being able to stay in their resides [schools], which is right around the California neighborhood, where are those students going to go? We don't know, and we haven't heard that," said Pennix, who emphasized that many schools in the west end are already at capacity or in need of more resources.
The pushback from the public didn't come without warning.
A racial equity analysis obtained by WHAS11 News raised some concerns about the old Option 1 plan to cut all magnet and traditional school transportation, from which the current plan was derived.
In the survey, which is also taken by district leaders for every major policy change to ensure it's equitable, a team of community leaders said they felt cutting magnet bus service "will widen the opportunity gap," adding that it will have "adverse effect on learning and attendance."
Dr. Michelle Patrick, a former educator herself, with the Louisville Branch NAACP is on that committee.
"Why did you provide the community with choice, and then you're going to take it away?" Patrick said referring to the school district.
The approved transportation plan also cuts down the current number of school start times from nine to three.
They would be 7:30 a.m., 8:40 a.m., and 9:40 a.m. for next school year.
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