Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools leaders hosted members of the media on Wednesday morning to answer pressing questions ahead of the start of school next week. Here are a few key updates students and families should keep in mind:

Expect bus delays. The nationwide bus driver shortage continues, and 42 of the district’s 237 routed buses don’t have assigned drivers yet. Executive Director of Transportation Tisha Davidson asks that families be patient as the district seeks enough staff to cover its 21,094 miles of daily routes in a timely manner. Students should arrive at their stops early to avoid additional delays. Families can download the Edulog Parent Portal app so they can track their students’ bus routes.

Don’t bring metal cups. Starting this year, WS/FCS will not permit students to carry metal drink containers in school. This is to reduce safety risks from items that can be hidden inside metal cups and bottles to get past metal detectors, as well as from using the containers themselves to cause injuries. Instead, students may use clear plastic drink containers.

Teacher hiring is in progress. There are currently about 125 teacher vacancies across the entire district. However, there are also about 200 employees districtwide who are in the middle of the onboarding process. The human resources team is working to have as many people in place as possible by next week.

Air conditioning is good to go. The operations team has been keeping a close eye on facility systems over the summer, and they will continue to do so with students, staff, and families in the building this week for open houses. As of now, there are no major HVAC outages, and all schools should have adequate air conditioning on the first day.

Cyclospora won’t be an issue. WS/FCS sources relatively few food products over the summer, and the ones it does were unaffected by this summer’s cyclospora outbreak. School breakfasts and lunches will be safe to eat.

The full press conference can be viewed below.