JCPS top official denies auditor's claims about ending magnet school busing

Jefferson County Public Schools' chief operations officer disagrees with several recent comments made by the firm hired to investigate the district's busing disaster, according to a letter he sent board members Wednesday.

"I am concerned that we were not given a chance to respond to several incorrect statements last night, and now they will hang in the community air until (the next board meeting)," Chief Operations Officer Rob Fulk wrote in the letter obtained by The Courier Journal.

"This morning our transportation department indicated their reaction to the unfounded speculation by the auditor, and I would like to set straight a few items below immediately."

More: A multitude of errors: What audit firm said about investigation into JCPS busing disaster

The four-page letter outlines seven different points Fulk said were outright lies or misleading statements made by Tatia Prieto during Tuesday's board meeting. Prieto is the founder of Prismatic Services, the K-12 education consulting firm the district hired at the request of board members in August.

Prieto declined to comment, saying it is her company's policy not to respond to media inquiries about her clients.

Fulk said Prieto is underestimating the extent of the district's bus driver shortage, and he disagreed with her comments about the district having time to make a decision about transportation changes.

"The auditor is not the JCPS transportation department. If the primary message from the audit is to listen to our transportation department, then hear them: We need a decision for next year so that we do not get further behind in routing."

Tuesday Prieto told the board she'd have more questions before she'd make a decision about magnet busing. She also said she doesn't agree the district has to cut magnet transportation to have more drivers than routes.

“I understand the urgency … We have some time,” she said.

Board member Chris Kolb said the board is now in a "contradictory position" because of Prieto.

"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.

Fulk, along with Transportation Director Marcus Dobbs, have both told the board that cutting magnet transportation is the only option that will lead to students getting on and off buses on time next year.

In reference to recommendations made by Prismatic's report, Fulk's Wednesday letter reminded board members that he sent them another letter earlier in the week about issues outlined in the audit report that his department has already corrected or is working toward correcting.

In that letter, which The Courier Journal obtained through an open records request, Fulk wrote that much of the work left to be done is dependent on what the board decides about magnet transportation — because the transportation department needs to know which schools they will be servicing.

In response to Prieto's board presentation, Fulk also took issue with her remarks that the district could take “a large swack” at the millions of instructional minutes lost due to late buses by trimming “around the edges.”

That assertion, Fulk wrote, “is an insult to the work that all of our compound coordinators, specialists, our GIS team, and Mr. Dobbs has done since the beginning of the school year.”

“The auditor painted a picture that our transportation department could simply just “work harder and grind” to somehow cut 69 routes to be on time,” he said. “Let me be clear that the people who need to “work harder and grind” are coming in at 5 am, many leaving at 7 p.m., doing split shifts, or just working 10-14 hour days as the norm. … While I’m sure there is some area we can trim a little more, I have no issue saying we have trimmed about as much as we possibly can.”

Fulk also took the time to negate Prieto's critical statements about the transportation department's lack of involvement, though she was referencing meetings that happened before Fulk became COO.

In his letter, Fulk wrote, “Mr. Dobbs, or his next line of leadership, or bus compounds coordinators have been in every discussion when we work towards solutions." Prieto told the board — without specifically naming him — that Dobbs had been intentionally excluded from meetings prior to Aug. 9 when the COO role was filled by Chris Perkins.

Two other points Fulk responded to were about driver pay and driver shortage. Prieto did make comments in reference to other districts about driver pay, though she never said anything specifically about JCPS' driver pay structure. In terms of hiring drivers, Prieto suggested board members ask more questions about the success of recent hiring events for bus drivers before deciding to cut routes due to the driver shortage. Fulk pointed out that while the district is short about 20 drivers, there are still dozens more who call in each day.

Additionally, he wrote, “I will remind you that well over 100 of our bus drivers are above the age of 60. They are watching to see what next year will bring.”

After Prieto's presentation, six board members — including Kolb — chose to postpone their decision about magnet transportation until their April 16 meeting.

James Craig was the sole board member to vote against delaying the decision.

"I don't know if we are setting the transportation team up for success by waiting longer on the decision," he said at the time.

Read Fulk's full letter to the board below.

Letter from JCPS Chief Operations Officer Rob Fulk by Krista Johnson on Scribd

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: JCPS top official denies auditor's claims about ending magnet busing