The bell rings at Madison Middle School at 9 a.m.

Parent’s didn’t know what to expect. Earlier in the week, Hillsborough County school officials reported 35 out of 57 teachers were expected to take Good Friday off.

Madison’s principal, John Haley, says the reality is, only eight teachers ended up taking the day off, and only two of those didn’t have substitutes to cover their classes.

Although teachers reported for work at Madison, many students took the day off. Four out of 16 buses delivered students to Madison this morning, and most of those buses had far fewer students than normal. The other 12 buses’ routes were canceled because drivers did not show up.

One bus that arrived had only four students onboard, and it arrived nearly 20 minutes after the 9 a.m. bell. On a normal day, Madison’s principal says, that bus should have had 45 students onboard.

Some parents drove their middle school students to Madison this morning, saying they waited for 20 minutes at the bus stop and finally gave up.

Like all Hillsborough County schools today, Madison will be open until 6 this evening so children can stay if their parents cannot pick them up at the normal time. Madison’s staff expects to be gone long before that, though, because of the small number of students at school today.

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