The naturally occurring mineral is used as insulation in attics and walls. More than 70 percent of the vermiculite sold in the United States between 1919 and 1990 came from a mine in Libby, Montana, which was contaminated from a deposit of asbestos, according to the Environmental Protection Agency website.

Exposure to asbestos can cause cancer and other diseases. It must be airborne to cause a health risk.

Hunter said school officials do not know if the vermiculite in the school came from the contaminated mine.

“We’re going to treat it as such because the care of the kids and the safety of the building is job one,” he said.

The district is working with the state Department of Labor to submit a plan to “contain and encapsulate” the vermiculite in the building, Hunter said.

Crews will come in and use industrial strength vacuums to clean and remove any flakes or particles that have come loose, according to Hunter.

“We’re going to recaulk any areas where there might have been pipe or electrical or wall penetration to make sure there’s no seepage,” he said.

The plan also includes six-month checks, including air quality sampling, to monitor for spillage of particles.

School officials do not know exactly how much the remediation work will cost, according to Hunter. The Lake George Board of Education on Thursday voted to spend up to $150,000 for the project. In addition, it hired Professional Services industries Inc. to conduct asbestos air sampling and project monitoring at a cost not to exceed $25,000.

The district is allowed to bypass competitive bidding because this has been deemed an emergency project.

PSI already had been doing asbestos abatement for the renovation project.

Hunter said, the district has saved money on its capital project. Voters in February 2015 approved the $2.8 million project, which includes replacing leaky roofs at both buildings, installing a new transformer at the elementary school, putting in a new hot water tank at the junior-senior high school and installing a new drainage system to replace one in which pipes have collapsed and caused flooding in certain areas around the building.

The project will also add security doors throughout the building to allow for safe access to the gymnasium for public events; add a new secure entrance vestibule that will require visitors to be buzzed in through an interior door; and install new doors throughout the high school to improve security and handicapped accessibility.

The district is bonding up to $2.3 million for the project and using $517,000 that was not spent during a previous capital project. The state will reimburse the district about 10 percent of the cost through building aid.

Earlier this year, residents expressed concerns about potential health effects from construction done at the school facilities over the years. In February, concerned citizens led by alumna Kathleen Devoe started a Facebook page that posted a claim that a disproportionate number of former students and faculty were coming down with a variety of illnesses. Among the causes speculated was asbestos removal work that occurred in the 1980s and 1990s.

The concerns prompted the formation of a task force in May to see if there was a link between the asbestos removal work and health problems.