Dozens of students walked out of school Tuesday morning after complaining of a terrible smell, but school officials say those students were just looking for an excuse to have a day off.

Maggie Smith picked her son up from from school early Tuesday, Alex says he couldn't take it anymore.

"Horrible stench gets you sick to your stomach. It has been horrible the last few days," Alex Hinkle said.

"It's just a really bad sewer smell in all parts of the building," Brittany Runyon said.

So Alex and dozens of other students walked out of the school.

Police officers already at the school kept a close eye on the protest.

Students say they just couldn't deal with the smell anymore.

School officials say they believe the problem started when the weather cooled and sewage exhaust air from the roof got sucked up into the ventilation system.

School administrators say contractors have been working on the problem since it began, but many parents say their children shouldn't have had school.

An official with the Knox Co. Health Department says there's no health danger so school stayed open.

But some parents still wonder.

"I wonder if there will be any health risk to these kids to sit there and smell this all day long," Smith said.

Contractors are extending exhaust pipes and hoping that will clear the air.

Knox Central's principal says he hopes the problems will be fixed by Wednesday, meanwhile, he says the school will be disciplining a handful of students who got out of hand at today's protest.