'I was being a dad': Embattled school leader's heated exchange with reporter caps disastrous week
The superintendent of a Louisville, Kentucky-area school district came to a heated exchange with a local reporter over not scheduling media availability in the wake of what he called a "transportation disaster," that kept some students from reaching their home until late at night and ultimately canceled classes.
In a video published by the Louisville Courier Journal, a part of the USA Today network, Jefferson County Public School Superintendent Marty Pollio told a reporter that media availability was not scheduled for Thursday as he drove his daughter to college.
"What are you asking me, specifically?" Pollio said. "If you are asking me if I was a dad yesterday - yes, I was a dad yesterday."
Pollio was visibly offended by a reporter's questioning regarding his lack of media availability. The reporter pressed Pollio for an explanation for his public absence in the immediate aftermath of making the decision to cancel classes after bus delays caused students to get home hours after their school's dismissal - some just before 10 p.m.
"That is really an unbelievable question from you," Pollio continued. "I drove my daughter to college while I worked the entire time. If there is an issue with that - me not being able to speak to you - because I was being a dad, then that's what I was being. I was being a dad."
From Louisville:Behind the superintendent's heated exchange over media availability amid busing disaster
Bussing chaos keeps kids late
Kentucky's largest school district has claimed two of its snow days within the first week of the new year and it will likely claim more next week.
The district transports about 68,000 students each day and after enduring significant delays due to a driver shortage last year, the district implemented a new system that required fewer drivers.
That system proved deeply flawed, with students being stuck at school for hours after dismissal and the last student being dropped off at 9:58 p.m.
"School is not likely," on Monday, Pollio said, adding that families should have a definitive answer by Saturday at the latest. If classes are canceled again, students will not be asked to do virtual instruction.
Pollio blamed the transportation failures on the first day of school on multiple issues, including communication failures, human error and the addition of thousands of routes that weren't initially a part of the district's plan.
Another issue was that drivers either had to wait for parents to arrive at stops to retrieve their kindergartners, or those children needed to be taken back to their schools because the district requires a hand-to-hand drop-off.
Republican state representatives from around Louisville have demanded Gov. Andy Beshear call a special session to discuss the issue and potentially take further action in the district.