ALBANY - More than half the student bodies at two Albany schools did not attend class on Friday, a day in which most buses were unable to run their routes due to staffing issues.

WBRZ News 2 has reported this week on a driver shortage that prompted school officials to ask parents to seek alternative means of transportation for students at Albany Middle School and Albany High School.

Livingston Parish Public Schools administrators expected only a handful of the 19 buses serving those schools to be in operation Friday. They told WBRZ that driver illness, emergencies and a shortage of substitutes contributed to the problem.

On Friday, a district spokesperson said only 257 of the 628 member student body at Albany Middle School showed up for class. At the high school, attendance amounted to 253 of the 559 enrolled students.

Officials told families that regular attendance rules would be in effect Friday, despite the busing trouble.

The school system will be on Thanksgiving Break all next week, with classes set to resume on Nov. 27.