KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — Some parents are upset after Gibbs Elementary School hosted a "Grandparents Day" event.
Officials sent out a letter detailing the event. It said more than 700 grandmothers and grandfathers were planning to attend for each of the two days it was scheduled to be held.
A mom of a student at Gibbs found the event alarming. She said that it was unwise to host the event as COVID-19 cases continue to rise across East Tennessee.
"She woke up with, I thought it was a sinus infection. She had a sore throat kind of crazily, and it was still there Monday morning" said Lee Ann Large.
That sickness turned out to be COVID-19 and her daughter was sent home for 14 days. Despite the positive case of COVID-19, the school still planned on hosting the Grandparent's Day event the following week.
"We figured they would cancel it. But we got an email saying, 'We're going ahead with it,'" she said.
Not only would the school have the event, but hundreds of people would also attend.
"I was angry. Because that puts not only the children at risk, but the grandparents at risk," Large said. "It's the two most vulnerable populations."
We reached out to the school and officials pointed us to the district spokesperson Carly Harrington. In an emailed response, Harrington said the superintendent "has given principals the flexibility to make decisions about specific events."
So, we called and were sent to Principal Joe Cameron's voicemail.
"They need to take into consideration holding off on these events until a vaccine becomes available for the small children," said Large.
All she said she wants is the way the district handled COVID-19 last year.
"It was masking, it was temperature checks, it was social distancing," she said. "They're not doing any of that. And I feel like those things need to be put back in place."
We asked the school for a response around 2 p.m. Friday afternoon, but officials have not responded.
The school plans to host the event again in the spring for people who felt uncomfortable about attending this week's gathering.