Nearly 1,500 Suffolk Public Schools students were absent Monday following the second day of a “sick-out” protest by bus drivers.

Suffolk Public Schools spokeswoman Bethanne Bradshaw said 32 bus drivers called out on Monday. About 67 called in sick on Friday. There are 135 drivers.

The bus drivers staged the “sick-out” protest Friday in search of higher wages and better benefits and working conditions. Suffolk Bus Drivers Association president Angelo Stone said Friday the drivers would repeat their protest on Monday if they did not hear anything over the weekend.

On Monday, 26 high school routes and two middle school routes were canceled. Bradshaw said 1,481 students were absent, compared to the average for Mondays in March of 879. Student absences will be excused Monday only if they are assigned to a bus route that was canceled, Bradshaw said.

Stone said Monday evening that drivers would be back at work on Tuesday.

“Tomorrow, everybody’s going to go back to work,” he said. He said drivers will be paying close attention to the city’s budget proposal, expected to be made public on Wednesday.

“We’re going to see from there how they’re going to come to us and talk to us,” Stone said. “The point has been made that we will stand together.”

But Stone said it may not be over if the drivers do not get what they feel they deserve.

“If they don’t come to the table and talk to us, it’s going to go down again,” he said.

Bus drivers and aides received a recorded call on Sunday from Transportation Director Keba Baldwin, Bradshaw said. The call told drivers that anyone who used sick leave Friday and Monday will need proof of illness, such as a doctor’s note.

The call also told drivers that if their request for personal leave was denied and the driver was absent anyway, the employee’s pay for that day will be deducted from their paycheck.

Both measures are in accordance with School Board policies, according to the phone call.

“The principal or superintendent shall have the authority to require reasonable proof of illness when deemed necessary,” one policy reads. “Sick leave may be denied to any employee who is found guilty of abuse of the sick leave regulation.”

But Stone said the policy has always been that drivers have to absent for three days before they need to bring a doctor’s note.

On the other hand, drivers who showed up to work Monday and did extra runs will be paid $50 for each extra run they covered, Bradshaw said.

The information in Sunday’s phone call, which was also emailed to bus drivers and aides, also said drivers and aides are being sought to serve on a new advisory committee to the superintendent on transportation concerns.

It also reminded drivers of new bonuses for meeting safety and attendance goals. A driver will get a $250 attendance bonus if they have three or fewer days absent from work between March 24 and June 19. An $80 safety bonus is in place for the remainder of the year.

Next year, the attendance bonus will go up to $1,000 for drivers who miss 10 days or fewer for the school year.

The phone call also stated the school division is going to “commit to striving for mid-level or higher bus driver/aide salaries among area school divisions.”

Hourly pay for bus drivers currently ranges from $11.71 to $17.79. With the budget approved last week, it would rise to $12 for beginners to $17.96 for more experienced drivers.