North Carolina’s four westernmost state legislators are all seeking reelection this year, but their campaigns are about much more than just their individual races. Each one of them is an integral part of the Republican supermajority in the General Assembly, which has a long-term view of what the state should look like in 10 years. 

The race for state superintendent will determine who will support and advocate for the state’s 2,500 public schools and lead the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). This election cycle, it also a race in which experience in public education is pitted against an outsider to the system.  

Schools around the region will be closed beginning Sept. 29 following flooding caused by Hurricane Helene.

This month the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction released performance and growth data for the 2023-24 school year, and for another year in a row, Haywood County dominated regional rankings with the top two high schools in the western region. 

Finding enough bus drivers to operate all necessary routes has become a common issue for school systems across North Carolina and districts in the westernmost part of the state are not immune.

Members of the Blue Ridge School community showed up to the Jackson County Board of Education’s August meeting to express concerns regarding the state of the school. 

The Jackson County Board of Commissioners voted this month to commit to funding construction and renovation of Fairview School, which was recently identified as the system’s top capital needs priority due to overcrowding and outdated design. 

As the July 1 budget deadline for Child Care Stabilization grants approaches, it appears the Republican-led North Carolina House and Senate are struggling to agree on how to spend the $30 billion or so taxpayer dollars slated for the upcoming fiscal year. 

To the Editor:

Since the beginning of the new year, I have seen several photos of Sen. Kevin Corbin (R-Macon) handing out oversized checks in some of Western North Carolina’s counties.

The memorandum of understanding between Jackson County Public Schools and the Catamount School is up for annual review, and this year, JCPS is reconsidering the agreement that permits the Catamount School to operate on the campus of Smoky Mountain High School, where it occupies valuable classroom space in a system that needs all the room it can get.