Officials renew assistant principals' contracts, hire countywide lead teacher

By Lynn Hotaling

All four assistant principals will stay in their current schools. Contract extensions were granted to Ellen Hunter, Cullowhee Valley; Thurza McNair, Fairview; Steve Jones, Scotts Creek; and Neal Sellers, Smokey Mountain Elementary.

It was also announced Monday that Theresa Peters, who will be principal at Cullowhee Valley beginning July 1, will serve under a two-year contract.

Longtime Cullowhee Valley sixth-grade teacher Susan Norman was named an instructional lead teacher and will work at the school system's Central Office. Her appointment is for three years, said Superintendent Mack McCary, and she will continue to be paid according to the state's teacher scale. Money for Norman's salary will come from state allocations for administrative personnel, the superintendent said.

Norman is taking a position left vacant last year when former elementary supervisor and testing coordinator Linda Griffths retired. Many of Griffiths' duties fell on Assistant Superintendent Nancy Sherrill's shoulders, and Sherrill's work load had become too great, McCary said.

"We thought about this long and hard," McCary said. "Nancy's done double duty for more than a year. We also rethought the position and decided to bring in a teacher rather than a career supervisor."

Among Norman's first tasks will be helping to design the Summer Academy, a summer school for fifth-graders who either did not pass state-mandated tests required for promotion to sixth grade or failed to meet local promotion standards.

McCary said that Norman would also be instrumental in devising a countywide reading program that will include a comprehensive approach to teaching communications.

Norman's addition to the Central Office staff came only a couple of hours after school system finance officer David Steinbicker warned board members that Jackson County will likely lose some $270,000 in state funds during the next budget year. Of those proposed cuts, $60,000 would be from Central Office administration, $62,000 from non-instructional personnel (office support), $36,000 from teacher assistant salaries, $57,000 from funds designated to WRESA, a multi-county educational resource center, and one teaching position.

Superintendent McCary told board members that he had heard from sources in Raleigh that public school systems should be lobbying state legislators in an effort to minimize the cuts to school districts.

Board member Ali Laird-Large suggested asking each school's PTO to send a letter to lawmakers expressing concern over the effect such cuts would have on Jackson County Schools. It was decided that McCary and Steinbicker would compile an information sheet and sample letter as a guide for the school organizations.

Turning to the athletic program at the county's largest school, board members heard from Smoky Mountain High wrestlers Jake and Mike Scott.

Speaking on behalf of the wrestling team, Jake Scott told the board that he and his teammates were concerned because a new wrestling coach has not been hired to replace veteran wrestling coach Ian Roper, who left the local school system two months ago after accepting a job in another part of the state. Other problems include the lack of adequate practice space and threadbare uniforms, Jake Scott said.

"Thank you so much," board Chairman Martha Queen told the student athletes. "We're well aware of your problems - we talk about it at almost every board meeting."

With regard to repairs planned to the visitor's bleachers at Carr Hooper Stadium, board members learned that the only estimate received was for $89,000, almost twice the $45,000 allocated for the project.

Board members decided several months ago to replace the wooden bleacher seats with aluminum planks. One reason for the higher-than-expected price, said school system maintenance director Arlin Middleton, is that if the bleachers are changed from wood to aluminum, current code requirements must be met. Those regulations require a handicap ramp, kick boards and screens to prevent spectators accidentally falling through the bleachers. If the seats are replaced with wooden boards, code upgrades would not be required, he said.

Middleton outlined three choices: close off the bleachers; replace the rotten boards with more wooden boards; or accept the bid, which is for the complete job including scraping and repainting the metal bleacher support structure.

"We don't have a choice," said board member Ray Trine. "We've got stands that aren't safe. I think this deserves a phone call to the county commissioners. This is one of those items where we pay now or pay later."

Trine's motion to seek help from county commissioners to fund the bleacher repairs passed unanimously. Superintendent McCary said Tuesday that he had outlined the school board's dilemma to County Manager Jay Denton.

School system construction coordinator Clarence Hubbell told board members that the new floor in the SMHS gym is almost completed. However, he said, it's not likely that new bleachers will be in place by the start of volleyball season. The contract for the bleachers has been awarded, but the Canadian contractor is having difficulty finding an architect/engineer certified by North Carolina to do the necessary design work on the project, Hubbell said.

With regard to other construction projects, Hubbell reported that the contractor at the new Scotts Creek School has given the go-ahead for school system personnel to begin moving books and instructional materials into the new school, even though a Certificate of Occupancy has not yet been issued.

The holdup, Hubbell said, is a "fail-safe" door that closes in the event of fire. The door must have a fail-safe catch, or panic hardware as required for corridor doors, he said.

The door, which is desirable because it allows the auditorium and gym to be opened for programs without unlocking the entire school, is in place but is not installed to specifications, said John Wittekind, Jackson County's chief building inspector.

Hubbell said a May 30 meeting has been scheduled with the architects and all contractors at the new school to determine the items that remain to be completed and who is responsible for completing them.

Scotts Creek's eighth-grade graduation will not be held at the new school, Hubbell said.

Turning board members' attention back to SMHS, Hubbell said that good progress is being made on the workforce addition, which will provide new vocational classrooms and shop space at the 40-year-old facility. However, he said, it's unlikely that the building will be complete by the time students return Aug. 9.

"I can't say it will be finished by the start of school," Hubbell said. "It will be close. They actually have made good progress - it's a difficult building to build in the time they were given."

With regard to the classroom addition at Blue Ridge that will house high school students, Hubbell said he was "more optimistic" that it would be completed in time to use at the beginning of school.

"They've made good progress despite setbacks," he said.

Back to Archive: 05/24/01.