DANDRIDGE, Tenn. — As freezing temperatures moved across East Tennessee, Dandridge Elementary School parent Amber Florio made sure her daughter was ready.
She knew it would be chilly outside. But Tuesday evening, she saw a message warning her it could be cold inside, too.
"We have one ceramic heater in the classroom, but nothing in the halls or cafeteria," one teacher wrote.
"We do not have heat in our building, we have heaters," said another.
Both encouraged students to dress in layers.
"They just let us know the night before that there was no heat in the school," Florio said. "I don't feel like I should have to bundle my child up to be indoors all day."
Jefferson County Director of Schools Dr. Shane Johnston said they checked every classroom in question and all of them were at least 65 degrees before students arrived.
He said the boiler needs to replaced at Dandridge Elementary and the district is finalizing a plan to do so.
"As we began to prepare for the changing of seasons, it became clear that the existing boiler at Dandridge Elementary School was not repairable," Johnston told 10News. "It is our expectation to have the new boiler in at Dandridge Elementary School before students leave for Thanksgiving Break."
He said they are in the process of approving bids to replace the boiler at Dandridge Elementary, as well as White Pine School. The county commission needs to vote on the purchase at Monday's meeting.
"The unseasonal cold snap we are experiencing magnified this problem," he said. "The administrative team and faculty worked together to keep the students warm and in a safe learning environment."
Jefferson County parent Tiffany Aggen said she was happy to learn they are working toward correcting the problem, but wish it was taken care of sooner.
"I don't know about you, but it's hard to learn when you're cold," Aggen said. "It's our school's responsibility as well to make sure that our kids are not in those kind of elements."