Ky. principal drives school bus for students after transportation staff get COVID-19

A Kentucky principal is getting national attention for becoming a school bus driver when two members of her transportation staff got COVID-19.

Janet Throgmorton, principal of Fancy Farm Elementary in Western Kentucky, was featured in an article Monday on nbc.com:

“This principal, when faced with a bus driver shortage (currently, both of her bus drivers have COVID-19, including one on a ventilator for 38 days) got her commercial driver’s license so she could drive the routes herself and give all students transportation to school,” the article said.

Throgmorton could not talk to a Herald-Leader reporter who called her school on Tuesday — “she’s gone to get on her bus,” said school secretary Jill Cope. Students at Fancy Farm Elementary had in-person learning for ten weeks in the fall before switching to virtual learning in November. Students returned to in-person learning on Monday.

The school has about 200 students, according to the state Education Department.

Even when Throgmorton was not driving the school bus, she was helping students, according to NBC.

“In the... virtual environment, Throgmorton has been known to pick up students (sometimes because their parents or caregivers just needed a break) and take them to school, where they could return to a somewhat familiar location and have stable internet and in-person support, all within capacity guidelines,” said the article on nbc.com. “Throgmorton, who upped her personal car insurance to do all this, sometimes swings by the local McDonalds for a well-earned treat afterward.”

This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 4:19 PM with the headline "Ky. principal drives school bus for students after transportation staff get COVID-19."