LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Dozens of parents were left scrambling Tuesday morning after being notified minutes before school doors opened that classes were canceled.

According to the message from Principal Keith, Gibson Elementary School in Henderson canceled school for Tuesday, Sept. 5 after an “unexpected” number of staff and teachers were absent.

“I wish that, you know, last night we could’ve been notified. Or even 6 o’clock this morning,” Markee Bodily, a parent, said. “We were minutes away from walking out the door and heading to school.”

Bodily’s sentiment was shared with some of the other Gibson Elementary parents 8 News Now spoke with on Tuesday.

“I’m a stay-at-home mother so this wasn’t a huge inconvenience for me, but I did immediately think. ‘Oh no, what if you had to go to work? What about kids in Safekey? What about kids on the bus?’” Erin Wild said. “It’s 7:35. We drop off around 7:40, so that’s not a huge window of time to be warned.”

Both Bodily and Wild have two kids enrolled at Gibson. They decided to take their kids to a park near the school on Tuesday.

“I’ve lived here my whole life,” Wild said. “I’m a first-time mom, but I’ve never heard of schools being canceled because there weren’t enough teachers, or licensed subs.”

A parent who is also a teacher at another CCSD school said they saw kids Tuesday morning standing in front of Gibson worried. 8 News Now is protecting their identity.

“Kids were just sitting by the park, on their phone. Trying to call their mom or dad. They had no idea what to do. This was definitely not done correctly if this was a work action,” the parent said.

The full letter sent to Gibson Elementary School families Tuesday morning is as follows:

Good Morning, Gibson Elementary School Parents and Families,

This is Principal Jill Keith.

We are canceling school today at Gibson Elementary School. Please do not send your children to campus today, Tuesday, September 5th.

There are an unexpected number of licensed staff/teachers absent from school today and we have made the difficult decision to not have school today.

We appreciate your understanding and apologize for the inconvenience.

I will send you a message later today to provide additional information regarding classes for tomorrow.

Thank you.

8 News Now reached out to the Clark County School District, who provided this statement:

We are concerned about the licensed personnel attendance rate and the disruption to students’ education at Gibson Elementary School today. We reiterate that CCSD students should not be used as bargaining leverage by CCEA or its members.

CCSD thanks the City of Henderson for showing up for kids and opening the Silver Springs Recreation Center for our Gibson Elementary School families.

In a statement regarding what occurred at Gibson Elementary, the Clark County Education Association told 8 News Now: “We have no knowledge of what you’re inquiring about. Nor is what you are describing associated in any way with CCEA actions now or in the future.”