Cafeteria project is ahead of schedule

By Lynn Hotaling

"The report is very good on the new cafeteria project," said Arlin Middleton, maintenance supervisor for Jackson County schools, about progress on construction at 40-year-old Smoky Mountain High. "They've been lucky with the weather."

Exterior walls are poured, Middleton said, and construction crews have made rapid progress.

Middleton's update came during Monday's (Oct. 28) meeting of the Jackson County School Board.

General contractor for the $2.1 million project is Western Builders of Dillsboro.

County commissioners awarded contracts in June for the new cafeteria and kitchen currently under construction in the parking lot adjacent to the existing dining room. Plans call for the new cafeteria to be on the same grade as the gymnasium in order to allow handicap access from the school's lobby area into the gym.

The new dining room and kitchen are expected to be completed in time for the opening of school in August 2003.

Also regarding SMHS, Middleton told board members that discussions are under way with N.C. Department of Transportation officials regarding improved access to the high school. DOT officials will fund improvements to Fairview Road and Jones Street, Middleton said, but the school system will have to pay for any upgrades to roads on the SMHS campus.

Planning for improved traffic flow at SMHS and nearby Fairview Elementary is still in the preliminary stages, Middleton said.

Middleton also reported that planning has begun for renovations at SMHS to create a technology center through a $1.17 million Qualified Zone Academy interest-free loan. That money must be used on renovation and infrastructure and cannot be used for equipment, Middleton said.

Superintendent Mack McCary said discussions about the project are ongoing with Western Carolina University, Southwestern Community College and Harris Regional Hospital, the school system's partners in creating the "academy" that is required in funding guidelines.

Also Monday:

- School officials approved school improvement plans for the county's three high schools - SMHS, Blue Ridge and the School of Alternatives.

Newly installed board member Ken Henke, a former SMHS principal, said he was pleased to see details of Smoky Mountain's new freshman transition program - a new program implemented this year aimed at reducing ninth-graders' failure rates.

"I wanted to commend them for that program," Henke said. "(Getting freshmen adjusted to high school) has always been a problem."

- After school program coordinator Peggy Wike outlined plans for American Education Week, Nov. 18-22. Individual schools will hold events, she said, and the school system will provide all teachers with a catered lunch served by school board members and community leaders during the week.

In addition, school officials plan to use a billboard near SMHS to express appreciation to all Jackson County teachers.

"It is important to use this week to highlight the importance of teachers in the lives of children and to the future of the community," Superintendent McCary said.

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