School Board Tables Vote On Moving Hanes/Lowrance For One Week

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Board is waiting one more week to decide what to do with students at Hanes and Lowrance middle schools, after parents learned that the site sits on contaminated grounds.

At a special meeting Tuesday night, the school board voted to hold the conversation until the regular school board session next week, when a timeline of the air quality testing will be available.

Mid-Atlantic Engineering and Environmental solutions out of Raleigh will conduct vapor intrusion tests at Hanes and Lowrance. A spokesman for the company says samples should begin in the next 10 days, with results taking up to three weeks. He says the board will need to discuss the cost for expedited testing.

Superintendent Beverly Emory says they're prepared to move students, should the board approve it.

"There's not any great, quick options. And I just want to acknowledge that upfront. And to do that is going to take some quick work," says Emory.

Short term plans for Hanes include splitting the sixth grades from the seventh and eighth grades.

She also presented short term possibilities to move the students, which include splitting the sixth grade to Smith Farm Elementary School, while the seventh and eight grades would go to Hill Middle School. Another option would be to move Lowrance to Atkins middle school.

In the hours-long meeting, the board heard from members of the public. Some urged that students be moved immediately. Others were concerned that a move would be disruptive to students and parents.

Jeff Harbinson was planning to send his son to Lowrance and was discouraged that the board shelved the conversation for another week.

"I'm not going to put my kid on top of a toxic plume. The science does say that they're toxic vapors. There will be. At what level is safe? I'm just not going to put my kid there," says Harbinson.

Also at the meeting, Emory announced that the district will withdraw its funding request for building the new Lowrance at the same site at the Forsyth County Commissioners meeting Thursday. It will ask for an extension on the $41.6 million dollar request.