Fayette County school officials discuss bus snow plan

FAYETTE CO., Ky. (LEX 18) – 40,000 children spread across a large county – that’s what the Fayette County Public Schools (FCPS) transportation department says is their challenge to get kids back into the classroom.

“These storms are not easy, you can’t predict how it’s going to go one way or the other, this storm was very significant, it created a lot of challenges for us the size of our county and the size of our school district ,” Transportation Director Daryn Morris said.

Morris said they expect the roads to refreeze overnight. They are also concerned about sidewalks, with children walking to school or the bus stops.

“We’ve had a few issues with the roads, throughout the city the neighborhoods haven’t been great, there’s a lot of cars parked on the streets, which makes it difficult to get through,” Morris said.

Parent Katie Neal lives in southwestern Fayette County. She is frustrated with the condition of her road, which is a bus route.

“Right now the roads are not safe for anybody, but it’s been that way for a good week,” Neal said. “Why aren’t the city and the school system apparently working together to clear roads that are bus routes?”

Chief Operating Officer Myron Thompson spoke about the partnership at Monday’s press conference.

“If you just take a drive across the street in this neighborhood, you’ll see that the main road is fine, but there are certain streets that haven’t had a chance to be cleared, and those are the things that we’re struggling with, we “have been in communication with them, they are excellent partners and we appreciate how much they are doing,” Thompson said.

School officials say they plan to run bus routes tomorrow morning from 02.30. They will make a decision at 05.00 for school on Tuesday 14 January.