HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — After steering the Georgia Board of Education as state superintendent, one local teacher is getting behind the wheel of the big yellow bus to help kids get to class on time - especially her class.
Kathy Cox was elected to the top spot straight out of the classroom, serving as the Georgia State Superintendent from 2002 to 2010.
"I had never been a principal; I had never been in a county office," she said. "So I knew that I didn't know what I needed to know."
Now she's back in the classroom where it all began, teaching government to high school kids in Henry County. Even though the kids are full of ideas, Cox said her classroom is empty at the first bell.
"The kids were coming in 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes late because of the buses," she said.
She teaches government but this is a math problem: more students and fewer drivers are causing problems in school districts across the U.S. In some states, schools even have had to cancel classes.
"My whole life has been asking the question, if not me, then who?" Cox said. "And I can be part of the solution."
So over the summer, Cox earned her commercial driver's license (CDL), and though she's still working out those first-day-of-school jitters, she understands the importance of her job.
"It's tough, but I am carrying the most precious cargo we have," Cox said. "Students, and for parents, their children. So it has to be a rigorous process."
And she's even got a little reminder of what she's done for the district every time she opens her bus driver training manual.
"My name is still on the bottom! Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools," she said.
Cox isn't the only teacher hopping in the driver's seat either; 12 other Henry County educators earned their CDL over summer break. All are taking steps to solve the problem.
"Right now, I think I am doing the two most important jobs in education," Cox said. "You can't wait around for someone else to do something. You have to step up."