The fate of Portal Middle/High School's old gymnasium still hangs in the air after members of the Bulloch County Board of Education voted Thursday to table the issue for further discussion.
    BOE Chairman David Ball opened the discussion about demolishing the gym, stating he believed a $45,000 bid received to tear it down was "a fair price.
He recommended the board approve the bid.
    Bulloch County school superintendent Dr. Lewis Holloway stated it costs $25,000 a year to heat and cool the gym, and said the City of Portal has not offered to take over the gym. At that point during the meeting, Portal Mayor Larry Motes stood and denied having any discussion with BOE officials over the matter.
    "Nobody has made any offer to us," he said. "I'm not aware of it and I'm the mayor."
    Portal City Council member Jerry Lanigan, who also attended the meeting, said no BOE members had discussed the gym with city council members either.
    "This is news to me," Motes said.
    But Bulloch County Assistant Superintendent Charles Wilson said Friday he had spoken to Motes on several occasions about the gym. "Larry and I have talked about that gym on several occasions."
    Both Motes and Lanigan said Friday that BOE members don't seem to understand Portal's concerns. Original plans were to keep the old gym, which needs repair, and not build a new gym in the new school, currently under construction.
    But now that a new gym is in the works, Portal citizens worry about having middle school and high school age students in the same gym, locker rooms and bathrooms.
    Wilson said keeping the old gym was never an option in the first place, that it was an "implied decision" that it would be torn down after the new gym was built.
    Portal citizens complained that the original plans for the new school did not include a gym. Now, they want two gyms, he said. The new gym should be able to accommodate all students.
    Lanigan disagrees.
"We were told we were not getting a multipurpose room," she said. "We need the (old gym) for space for the middle school students."
    After the brief discussion between Motes and others during the meeting, Ball interrupted with a passionate statement.
    "I know we've been intimidated by some groups coming in here," he said. "I'm going to tell y'all - we've spent $15 million in Portal and did a good job (with the new school construction).
    "I tell you what, I'm going to vote for the kids. We don't need to tear the gym down. I work for the kids, I don’t work for the parents."
    Ball received a standing ovation, with chants of "work for the kids, work for the kids."
    "Let's give it a shot," he said.
    BOE member Scott Bohlke reminded the group of how Portal citizens complained about the old gym being inadequate, but now they want it to remain.
    He suggested an intergovernmental agreement between the City of Portal and the BOE to fund the gym, but others in the crowd disagreed.
    "We're all Bulloch County," Lanigan said, suggesting using the proposed funds for demolition to cover the cost of heating and cooling the gym for a few years until a multipurpose room could be built.
    BOE member Mike Herndon made a motion to table the issue until further discussion could be made. However, Motes asked "Why give it to the city?" If the old gym is demolished, "build the middle school a new facility," he said.
    Lanigan said Friday that Portal has traditionally been shortchanged by the BOE.
    "It's not fair," she said, comparing the money spent on Statesboro and Southeast Bulloch high schools. "I don't begrudge them getting money - we all know Statesboro is the king - but why shortchange our kids and give them nothing? They're not hurting the adults, they are hurting the kids. We're supposed to lap up crumbs because they built us a new school?
    The BOE is treating Portal unfairly, she said. "It's like we're an island, not part of Bulloch County. We're not 'those people up there,' like Bohlke said."
    Motes said "We all need to cool down and talk this thing over. We want to keep the gym until we can get a multipurpose room."
    The issue is expected to be revisited during the next school board meeting, Wilson said.