What went wrong with JCPS bus transportation? New audit details botched rollout.
A new report released on Monday found problems at every level of JCPS's bus transportation problems, from the decision to change school start times and bus routes to the final implementation of the plan.
The 248-page audit, done by an education consulting group called Prismatic Services, also makes 16 recommendations.
Read the audit in its entirety
"JCPS leadership did not seem to have adequately weighed the time needed to implement such sweeping changes," the audit read.
The report raised questions about the lack of bidding for the bus route software, especially since problems had been encountered in other districts that used AlphaRoutes, the software acquired in a sole-source contract approved in November 2022.
Poor planning and a lack of traditional project management techniques led up to a rollout that included little training or advance notice for bus drivers and their supervisors, the report also noted.
"Some staff reported being ignored when they sounded alarms," the report read, alleging that other staff told investigators there was a "negative environment in the central office that discouraged questions and collaboration."
The result was a rollout on the first day of the 2023-24 school year that went so badly that classes were canceled for four days while the district regrouped.