Fayette County school officials discuss snow plan for buses

FAYETTE CO., Ky. (LEX 18) – With 40,000 children spread across a large county, the Fayette County Public Schools (FCPS) transportation department says their challenge is getting kids back into classrooms.

“These storms are not easy, you can’t predict how it will turn out one way or the other. This storm was very significant, it presented us with many challenges due to the size of our county and the size of our school district. ” said Transportation Director Daryn Morris.

Morris said she expected the roads to freeze over again overnight. They also worry about the sidewalks on which children walk to school or to bus stops.

“We had some problems with the streets, neighborhoods all over the city weren’t great, there were a lot of cars parked on the streets, which made it difficult to get through,” Morris said.

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

“Right now the streets are not safe for anyone, but it has been that way for over a week,” Neal said. “Why doesn’t the city and school system seem to work together to clear streets where bus routes operate?”

Chief Operating Officer Myron Thompson discussed the partnership in Monday’s press conference.

“If you just drive across the street in this neighborhood, you’ll see that the main street is fine, but there are certain streets that couldn’t be cleared and those are the things we’re struggling with.” We have communicated with them, they are excellent partners and we appreciate how much they do,” Thompson said.

School officials say they plan to run the bus routes starting at 2:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. They will make a decision by 5 a.m. for school on Tuesday, Jan. 14.