School bus drivers continue to be scarce in Albemarle County, leaving hundreds of students without public transportation. And while ACPS has been working to fix the problem, the principal and a language arts teacher at Lakeside Middle School have taken matters into their own hands.
Principal Michael Craddock and seventh-grade teacher Jeff Matriccino became substitute bus drivers last year. Craddock offered to help when a route was consistently delayed by an hour or more, and Matriccino filled in on an afternoon route that needed a driver. Luckily, both already had their commercial driver’s licenses, necessary for operating a school bus. Craddock got his CDL during the pandemic while he was the director of Center I, initially to assist getting kids to internships, while Matriccino has had his license for more than 10 years, which has allowed him to take his students on field trips.
“When I was first asked to do it after the second week of school, I was like, ‘Yeah, sure I’ll do it,’” says Matriccino. “I was thinking it’d probably be just two or three weeks, maybe a month.” He ended up driving from September until April.
When the 2023-24 school year was gearing up and a bus route had yet to be assigned a driver, Craddock and Matriccino again stepped up to help—this time for the whole year, if needed. For students living in the Burnley Station Road area, parents can take their kids to Preddy Creek Park and Matriccino will pick them up. That agreement (along with approval from county Parks & Recreation) cuts down on the drive time significantly.
Craddock’s afternoon route has also “been running pretty well,” he says. “I leave here about 4 o’clock, and I’m back by a little bit before 5 every day. So it’s not a huge thing in my day, but I think it makes a pretty big impact. I had a lot of parents on this route that were telling me … they didn’t have a way to get their kid to school, they didn’t have a solution that could work for them. I was glad to be able to reach out to those families and let them know we had them covered.”
Both drivers say they enjoy getting to interact with students outside of the typical school day.
“It’s nice to separate and wear a different hat … where I’m just the driver instead of the teacher,” says Matriccino.
While Lakeside has benefited from assistance offered by its staff, plenty of other schools remain without bus drivers. But Phil Giaramita, public affairs and strategic communications officer for ACPS, says the situation is improving quickly.
At the beginning of the school year, Giaramita was hopeful that the gap in service would be temporary. On August 23, nearly 1,000 students were on the waiting list for bus rides because 12 routes were left without an assigned driver. As of September 7, that wait list had come down to under 400 students, says Giaramita, with that number expected to drop further by the time this story goes to press. More than 94 percent of students who have requested bus service—about 9,500 students—are now able to ride the bus. Giaramita also says that the hour-long delays common last year have been eliminated.
“We regret the disruptions brought about by bus driver shortages that have closed schools in some locations around the nation and certainly have had an impact here,” says Giaramita. “Our parents and students deserve a great deal of credit for the adjustments they have had to make to support students. The same is true for our transportation staff and our principals and teachers, who have reached out to families. We are hearing from bus driver applicants that their interest is being generated by a desire to help students with their education. That is, after all, the bottom line for all of us.”
Craddock and Matriccino say they’ll keep driving as long as they’re needed.
“While we are committed to doing this for the entire year, it sounds like we’re getting to that point where they may have somebody in the pipeline sooner rather than later to take this over,” says Craddock.
Matriccino says he would “absolutely” keep driving if the route remains open, but that he “doesn’t want to try to hold a job from anyone” if the county hires enough drivers.
“I could retire in three years,” he says. “It’s a pretty good retirement gig.”