Good Friday teacher absences

In the end, Hillsborough teachers showed up for school on Good Friday in better numbers than students.

School officials finally have tallied the teacher absentee rates. About 27 percent of teachers were out on Friday, March 21, the first time in years that Hillsborough has held school on Good Friday. About 4,000 teachers took off that day.

That compares to the 60 percent of students who skipped classes, and 40 percent of bus drivers.

The Good Friday numbers are likely to see much scrutiny -- and perhaps some hand wringing -- as officials try to make sense of them. Sure, kids skipped in huge numbers. But that was after a week of warnings about high employee absenteeism that resulted in mass cancellations of bus routes, and schools sent out hugely different messages about what to expect that day.

The issue is moot for next year, when Good Friday falls during Spring Break. Any bets on whether the religious holiday will be a school day in the future?