Parents Demand Hanes/Lowrance Schools Be Shut Down At Packed Meeting

At what was at times a volatile meeting, hundreds of parents and students filled Hanes auditorium in Winston-Salem Wednesday night to discuss the contaminated grounds underneath Hanes and Lowrance middle schools. School administrators fielded questions concerning the air quality at the facility. 

Vishal Khanna was among dozens of people that addressed the board. He has a child that goes to the school.

"My first son has been exposed to toxic waste because of these people and because of the decisions of this city and this is unforgivable," says  Khanna. 

The site is above an underground plume of toxic waste which contains at least one chemical known to cause cancer and another linked to it. The Winston-Salem Journal reports that one monitoring well detected a chemical, PCE, that was 11,000 times above safety standards. 

The drinking water is considered safe as the school gets its water from the city, but the vapors from the chemicals can get into buildings. Testing on the site has occurred six times over the school's 63-year history, most recently in 2014. But a 7-year gap between testing has drawn the ire of parents. 

Beverly Emory, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County schools superintendent, apologized at the meeting for the lack of communication with parents. 

"We know there's blunders in the past. All I can do is acknowledge them and say going forward we want to improve upon the transparency and the ability for students, staff and parents to have the results of these tests," says Emory. 

But Emory says shutting down the schools isn't the best course of action. "Right now, based  on the most recent testing, we do not have scientific data interpreted by health professionals that warrant that kind of action."

Emory says the district is bringing in independent consultants to conduct immediate testing. The results are expected within 10-14 days. If any safety hazards are detected, Emory says there are plans in place for the schools.

Students are being allowed to stay home from the school without penalty pending the results of those tests.

The discussion also comes as the district plans a $15.4 project to replace the aging Lowrance which is proposed to be built along the same contaminated grounds.

Lowrance is a school for EC or "exceptional children" designations, or those with special needs. Some parents complained that some of their children have conditions that make them more vulnerable to toxins.

Hanes is a STEM magnet school and is the district's middle school for its Highly Academically Gifted program.