All Ware County Schools closed Friday, district cites high school football game and staffing shortages

WARE COUNTY, Fla. — Ware County Schools are closing down on Friday and administrators say it’s all due to a high school football playoff game.

The Ware County School District sent a message to parents on Monday and forwarded it to Action News Jax, explaining that the Ware County High School football team made it to the regional playoffs. With buses being used for team transportation and the district citing existing bus driver shortages, there just won’t be enough buses and drivers to complete kids’ daily routes to and from school on Friday.

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“I’m kind of disappointed in the school system for having them miss more school when they’ve already missed so much due to the hurricanes,” Waycross Middle School parent Shelby Henninger told Action News Jax. “Why do they not need to go to school because of all the buses? Like how many buses are they gonna actually need to take?”

Action News Jax asked the district just that.

A Ware County School spokesperson told Action News Jax out of the 90 buses the district has at its disposal any given school day, 13 will be used to travel to the regional playoff. The district also said it’s looking to hire five new bus driver positions.

“Luckily, I’m a stay-at-home mom. So I won’t have to, but me two years ago, I would have had to find someone to watch my kids,” Henninger explained. “And there’s a lot of working parents here that have to now last minute, cus it just came up today.”

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The district also reiterated while this decision was not taken lightly, it also highlights its commitment to supporting all forms of student achievement.

This is the district’s full message to parents:

“We are incredibly proud of our students’ dedication and accomplishments both in and out of the classroom, and we want to share an important update regarding this Friday, November 22, 2024.

Our football team has advanced to the playoffs and will be representing our school system alongside the band and cheerleaders on a regional stage. This accomplishment reflects their hard work, teamwork, and the strong support of our community. To compete, they will be traveling a considerable distance—approximately five hours each way—to their game. This exciting opportunity, however, has created a logistical challenge.

Due to the number of buses and drivers required for the trip, we are unable to run both regular afternoon bus routes and playoff transportation simultaneously with the current shortage of drivers, buses, and subs. As a result, all Ware County schools and the Central Office will be closed on Friday, November 22, 2024.

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We understand this decision comes after missed days due to Hurricane Helene, and we do not take it lightly. This closure ensures the safety and well-being of all students, allows our playoff teams to compete at their highest level, and highlights our school system’s commitment to supporting excellence in all areas of student achievement.

We appreciate your understanding and continued support as we cheer on our Gators! Let’s wish our students, coaches, and band directors the very best as they represent Ware County with pride. GOOOO GATORS!!”

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