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School officials OK activity bus purchase, change meeting date, adopt planning calendar for 2007-08
By Lynn Hotaling
During a March 27 meeting that was dominated by presentations from local students, school board members approved the purchase of a new activity bus and selected an alternate meeting date for April.
School system finance officer David Steinbicker recommended moving ahead with the purchase of an activity bus with a lift at an approximate cost of $72,000.
Ordering the bus now would mean it would likely be available in July, Steinbicker said. Also, purchasing a handicap-accessible activity bus will eliminate the need to borrow one from Haywood County, he said.
In other business, board members changed the date of their April meeting from Monday, April 24, to Thursday, April 27, because board member Ali Laird-Large will be away on April 24.
Board members also approved a planning calendar for the 2007-08 school year, with a tentative start date for students of Aug. 27 and June 5 the proposed final day of school. Under the draft 2007-08 calendar, teachers would report on Aug. 21.
Steinbicker presented board members with a list of personnel who are eligible to be considered for tenure this year. Statutes require that board members have that information at least 30 days before making a decision, and tenure has historically been decided during the board’s May meeting, he said.
Those eligible for tenure, listed by school, include:
Cullowhee Valley – Melanie McCord and Gregory Wike.
Fairivew – Tracy Bell, Nina Chadwick, Elizabeth Dunlap, Vyanne Fisher and Julie Thompson.
Scotts Creek – Margaret Emmanual and Gina Verrault.
Smoky Mountain High School – Rae Bachus, Tracy Brandt, Kim Hardy, Mary Henson and Gary Thomas.
Countywide – Alan Painter.
In other business, Superintendent Sue Nations approved a contribution of $500 to the SMHS Show Choir to help with expenses for their trip to New York. The group was chosen for the educational trip due to the school’s participation in the National Music Educators Association’s national anthem project. While in New York, they will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at a New York Yankees home game. Choir director Linda Haggard made the request in an effort to reduce the amount each student will have to pay.
School board members also approved a number of field trips. These included Cullowhee Valley fifth-graders to the Gatlinburg, Tenn., aquarium; three Fairview summer camp trips; a seventh- and eighth-grade outdoor classroom trip for Faiview, Scotts Creek and Cullowhee; and Blue Ridge’s eighth-grade trip and trip to the district Rotary conference.
In personnel action, board members:
– Accepted the retirement of Carolyn Colton, kindergarten, Scotts Creek; and resignations of Sherri Yopp, custodian, Scotts Creek, Trina Stiles, teacher, school of alternatives, Hal Alexander and Nicole Ownby, after-school program, Cullowhee Valley, and William Wallace, part-time teacher, School of Alternatives.
– Approved the employment of Michael Marsh, ESL tutor, Blue Ridge; Deborah Henry, part-time social worker, Blue Ridge; Norma Potts, interim teacher assistant, Fairview; Joe Hoyle, custodian, Scotts Creek; Vicki Davis, eighth-grade math, Smokey Mountain Elementary; Thomas Downing, ECP teacher, School of Alternatives; Phillip Stanley, maintenance, Central Office; and Betty McGaha, custodian, Cullowhee Valley.
– Approved as substitute teachers Cathryn Edwards, Michael McIntosh, Caleb English, Sean Hackett, Amanda Shuler, Jessica Draper and Lauren Allen.
– Approved as non-staff coaches Cathryn Edwards, softball assistant, Blue Ridge; Casey Davis, women’s soccer assistant, SMHS; Michae McIntosh, track assistant, SMHS; and Nancy Davis, middle-school track assistant.
– Approved as a non-staff volunteer Ed Jones, softball assistant, Blue Ridge.
– Approved as bus drivers Stephanie Burns, SMES; Tom Hughes, School of Alternatives; Charles Miller, Van Anthony and Sherri Yopp, substitutes.
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