Hundreds of students in Onamia were unexpectedly sent home from school early Tuesday and also given the next day off in what the district superintendent said was a shortage of bus drivers.
Superintendent Bert Strassburg said arrangements were being made to have classes in session Monday in the district of more than 600 students. There is no school statewide Thursday and Friday for teachers' annual fall break.
Strassburg steered away from saying the unforeseen circumstances were part of a labor dispute with the district's unionized bus drivers.
"It might be other things, when you are working with a union," he said, declining to elaborate.
Kari Noble, president of the AFSCME chapter that includes bus drivers, was not immediately available to comment.
The superintendent said he is filling the driver gap for its nearly one dozen district-operated buses with drivers from companies.
Once the difficulty surfaced Tuesday, students were released early in the community just to the south of Lake Mille Lacs, he said. Notice of school being canceled Wednesday went out to families early Tuesday evening.
"Canceling school is absolutely the last resort," Strassburg said. "I don't want people to think we made this decision lightly."
