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All buses in the South Stanly area will run their normal routes except for Bus 63 and Bus 64, according to SSMS Principal Kristen Sides in a message on the school’s Facebook page Thursday.

Beginning Friday and running through at least Sept. 3, students who usually ride Bus 63 will now ride Bus 86 and students who usually ride Bus 64 will now ride Bus 87. Both of the new buses will run around 45 minutes to an hour after their designated time in the morning, which means students will miss a portion of their first block class.

To compensate for the loss of instructional time and make sure students have enough time to complete their work, students on Buses 63 and 64 will have a study hall in the media center until around 4:30 p.m. while waiting for the buses to return to school for pickup. Buses 86 and 87 will return to school to take the students home after their standard route.

Though it could be subject to change, the students should be home by 6 p.m.

“We know that this situation and these accommodations are not ideal,” Sides wrote, “however, we are working diligently to best serve the needs of our students, staff and community. We appreciate your continued support during these difficult times.”

The announcement comes after Superintendent Dr. Jarrod Dennis told the SNAP Thursday morning that the South Stanly area was experiencing a shortage of bus drivers. At the time, there were only about six drivers, far less than the roughly 12 to 15 needed to transport students to and from school.