Parents of students at Temple High School attended the Carroll County Board of Education meeting Thursday to get their questions answered about the mercury found in the school’s gymnasium and to air their concerns.

Lesa Zaikowski, the mother of two daughters at the school, was disappointed that the school did not notify parents about the mercury.

“They had mentioned to me that there was a situation at the school inside the gymnasium and I just kind of shrugged it off,” Zaikowski said. “I thought something of that nature, I as a parent would have been notified.”

The first she heard about mercury being found in the gym was from a news report.

“That is just horrible,” she said. “There should have been a phone call, something.”

Temple resident Penny Ransom was concerned about how much mercury was in the building, the cleanup procedures and if any children could have been exposed.

Temple parent and officer of the Temple High Athletic Booster Club Phillip Wynne, was concerned that the school gymnasium would be put on the back burner despite the problem.

“The gym at Temple High School has been the topic of discussion for years,” Wynne said. “As a member of the community, I’ve heard that SPLOST would bring a new facility in the near future. It would have all the bells and whistles that a new facility could and should have, that the current facility could remain there as well, thereby enhancing the P.E. and athletics department. Then came the rains.”

The gym serves the school for athletic events and academic events. It has lockers and classroom space. It is the only part of the school that many visitors see. “Do the right thing,” Wynne said.

The gymnasium has been closed since Oct. 17 after flood damage repairs exposed some tile that looked like it could have contained asbestos. When the tile and the rubber flooring under it was tested, the mercury was discovered.

“This is all new to us,” Superintendent John Zauner told the parents. “There’s a lot of higher certification and standards for cleanup than what we’re used to dealing with in asbestos cleanup. So, it’s very, very different.”

Executive Director of Facilities and Construction David Goldberg explained the mercury was used as a bonding agent when the old rubber floor was installed in the 1960s. The mercury was not released until the school system started to rip out the flooring to clean up after damage was found from September’s flood.

“We are just as sensitive to the safety of our students and staff as the parents are,” Goldberg said. “No students were in the building when any of the rubber floor had started to be removed. All the students were gone and the place was closed up. No students were exposed.”

The system is working with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Georgia School Board Association and an environmental hygienist who will all have to sign off on the project before students are allowed to use the building again.”

“Part of the contract [requires] over 100 air quality tests,” Goldberg said. “We’re going to do air quality tests before we get started, during the process and after it’s over, we’re going to continue to monitor air quality.”