KNOX COUNTY, Tenn — The Knox County Schools superintendent said the first week of school for the 2023-2024 school year was "unpredictable.
"I think it's been an untraditional first week when you throw in the weather conditions and everything," said Jon Ryswick, the KCS superintendent.
On Tuesday, students at Sequoyah Elementary School arrived for the first day of class to find that electricity was cut off for part of the school. Knox County's first-ever tornado in August had just swept through, bringing damage and knocking power out for thousands of customers.
"That's not uncommon. When you have over 90 facilities, power will go out. We then get with our community partners to figure out a timeline and plan," said Ryswick.
On Thursday, students at Bearden Middle School went home early after an odor from a sealant used in auditorium renovations created a distracting stink. Those middle schoolers are expected to be back Monday. The smell, according to the district, is not toxic.
"People want to understand where that smell is coming from. So, out of caution, we just gave it the weekend to finish the school airing out," said Ryswick.
A national school busing shortage is also hitting Knox County. Some local schools are asking for more people to consider driving school buses for the school system.
"It's a tough situation because we also want to make sure we're hiring quality drivers, for safety that's very important too," said Ryswick.
After a week full of troubleshooting, KCS says they believe the rest of the year will be much smoother.