NORTH IDAHO-- Swine flu is keeping teachers and students out of the classroom and now it is also putting a strain on the bus drivers who have to get the children to school in the first place.

KREM.com

It's been most challenging for smaller, rural districts. When students call in sick, they don't show up, and when teachers call in sick, there is a pool of substitutes, but the pool of backup bus drivers can be very limited.

Plummer-Worley School District is 50 miles long and 20 miles wide. Each bus route is more than an hour long.

Carl Richel, the transportation director, says the district only has six bus routes, but sometimes it takes seven subs to keep things going. This year, the district has depended on its substitutes more than ever.