Retired FBI Executive Becomes School Bus Driver To Help Kids During Shortage

Due to issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, more than half of America’s school districts are experiencing a severe school bus driver shortage.

“As school districts across the country return to in-person learning and COVID continues to have an impact on education in general and school transportation scheduling and logistics in particular, the shortage of school bus drivers has become conspicuous”, NAPT Executive Director Mike Martin said in a statement. “But let’s be clear – this is not a new problem. Nor it is easy to solve.”

But one man in Chesterfield County, Virginia, is doing his part in helping his own district.

Michael Mason was an executive assistant director for the FBI and has recently retired after 23 years. He may be done working for the FBI, but his days working are not yet over.

After learning about the school bus driver shortage in his area while watching the local news, Mason knew he had to do something to help. He went above and beyond and became a bus driver himself!

In order to start driving school buses, he had to go through several weeks of training, as well as get his commercial driver’s license.

Now he spends his days transporting kids with autism to and from school, and says his main priority is keeping them safe. He believes that the work he is doing now is just as important, if not more, than the work he was doing with the FBI.