MAYNARDVILLE, Tenn. — Some Union County Public Schools bus passengers will have to find another mode of transportation for the next eight days, as the district has stopped bus service for the last week of school, according to news outlets.  

Knoxville News Sentinel reports that the district has suspended all of its school bus transportation except that for special-education and pre-kindergarten students.

Jimmy Carter, interim schools director, told the newspaper that close to 85% of the district's students ride a bus to school, and that "the school system, the school board and staff are unhappy" about the decision to suspend the service.

As previously reported, the plan to shorten bus service was on the table to help address a budget shortfall of about $200,000.  

Following the decision to stop the service, Union County Public Schools reportedly sent a letter to parents saying that students who don't attend the last week of school will be considered absent, according to a story on wbir.com.

However, the letter also says that parents are permitted to excuse children from five days of school with a written note, and that parents facing a "transportation hardship" can appeal their children’s absences.