DCPS delays start date due to major software issue

DAVIESS CO., Ky. (WFIE) - Officials with the Daviess County Public School District say their schools will no longer start on Wednesday, but instead will begin on Friday.

School officials say the delay is due to a major software issue that has disrupted securing their afternoon bus routes.

On Wednesday afternoon, bus drivers in the school district gathered outside of the Daviess County Public School Transportation Department.

Bus drivers say they have been locked out from offering any opinion or insight into the software problems that are delaying the start of school,

“We know where the kids are. We’ve hauled them for years, and we know where the kids live, where the computer program might not know that information,” one bus driver told 14 News. “Our ultimate goal is just to get the kids back in school.”

The issue with getting the kids back in school boils down to safety, according to DCPS Superintendent Matt Robbins.

He says they were working down to the wire to try and get their school software system to work correctly, and that was why they sent a call out to parents at around 9 p.m. Tuesday, the night before school was supposed to start.

Robbins realized it had to be done, even if they didn’t want to.

“Who wants to share bad news? That’s never a fun thing to do, but at the end of the day, we would’ve had a worse outcome and more people upset, and justifiably so, had we gone,” Robbins said. “That was really more confirmed this morning even.”

14 News spoke to parents like Candy Aud, who says that call never came through, so they woke their kids up as normal and got ready for the day.

She didn’t realize there was no school until just before 6 a.m.

“There was some of my friends that were actually out here with their children waiting for the bus. They had no idea,” Aud said.

Aud believes the entire issue boils down to better communication, which is an issue the bus drivers say they can agree with.

“We don’t have to use a computer program. We know where the kids are. We can help and fix the routes that are having issues,” one bus driver said.

The bus drivers that gathered outside of the transportation department got to go inside and talk with administration officials, and they say a lot of progress has been made.

Those communication lines are back open, according to bus drivers, and they are looking forward to helping each other figure out how to best get kids on the bus and into the classroom.

DCPS officials say they will know by Thursday afternoon whether school will also need to be canceled on Friday due to the issue.

Officials with the district say that the software issue is similarly affecting other school districts that use the same service.

Owensboro Catholic Schools say it will remain in session on Wednesday, but parents will have to provide transportation to and from school for their students.

Officials with the Owensboro Public School District say they will also start on Wednesday as planned.

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