Students in the Garfield School District had an unexpected day off Thursday.

About 380 teachers in the district called out sick for Thursday. The teachers have been working without a contract for more than a year.

Parents told News 12 New Jersey that they received calls from the district Wednesday night to notify them that classes would be canceled. Some students said they never received the alert and were surprised to find out there was no school when they arrived Thursday morning.

Garfield Assistant Superintendent Raymond Hryczyk says negotiations for a new contract have been ongoing, with the focus currently on financial issues.

?[The sick out] took us by surprise because we have a March 12 meeting scheduled with the Garfield Federation of Teachers expert who is coming from Washington, D.C. to go over finances as well,? Hryczyk says.

There is no word yet on whether there will be classes on Friday.