Work crews are checking a Henderson County elementary classroom to see if asbestos is present.
The Gleaner reports South Heights Elementary School was closed Friday as crews came in to take samples from the classroom to test for the contaminant.
It was unclear when students would return to school.
"We don't know how long school will be closed. We will make that determination after the samples come back. We're hopeful that we'll be back in school on Monday, but I can't say that," Assistant Superintendent Marganna Stanley said.
She said if asbestos is detected in the samples and the cleanup takes longer than the weekend, arrangements would be made to get students "back in the classroom" at a different location.
She said results were expected sometime on Friday.
Stanley said a leaky roof led to the discovery of possible asbestos in a classroom used by students in the third, fourth and fifth grades. She said workers pulling up damaged carpet found something that indicated asbestos might be present.
"We're taking this very seriously," said school district spokeswoman Danielle Crafton. "We put our students first."