Old instruments sing again: Community band effort provides new homes for neglected instruments
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer
Jacob Clark, a sixth-grader at Waynesville Middle School, likes the trumpet.
“It’s easy to play,” he says.
Playing with the numbers: School board accused of arbitrarily deflating cost estimates
Bond numbers
Haywood County voters approved a $25 million school bond in May 2005 intended to pay for a host of projects. The list of cost estimates presented to the public is as follows:
Former employee questions school spending in the aftermath of ‘04 floods
Haywood County schools must pay back more than $300,000 in state flood repair grants after double-billing both the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the same work.
Probe into unusual school spending account dropped
A former Haywood County school employee and Haywood Builder’s Supply have been cleared of wrongdoing in connection with an off-the-books spending account established at the store.
Macon superintendent departs amid harassment suit
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer
Macon County schools personnel director Tamra Tisdale has filed a sexual harassment suit against outgoing Macon County School Superintendent Rodney Shotwell.
The filing brings to light the probable content of recent closed-door Macon County Board of Education meetings. Earlier this month the board hired the law firm of Helms, Mullis and Wicker to investigate two formal complaints from school employees. The law firm will report back to the school board at the conclusion of the investigation.
The test, and nothing but the test
I don’t bash public schools. My wife’s a teacher, my children have gotten a great education at these schools, and we’ve been able to solve every major problem that ever arose with a teacher.
Swain teacher fills vital role for Latino students
By Michael Beadle
Editor’s note: This is the second in a two-part series on some of the issues faced by new Latino immigrants to this region.
Cristina Heath, a native of Mexico and a Spanish teacher at Swain County High School and Middle School, has mixed feelings about the growing number of Hispanic immigrants in Western North Carolina.
Celebrating 10 years as an A+ school
By Michael Beadle
Central Elementary School capped its 10-year anniversary as an A+ school Friday, May 19, with students, parents, county leaders, school officials and school alumni joining in the celebration.
Changing budget laws would save taxpayer money
The words still ring in my ears, coming as they did from a teacher who had spent years playing by the book: “I’ve got to spend the money by the end of the school year or it’s gone, so I’m gonna spend it on something.”
Supporters confident Wingate will be exonerated
When Danny Wingate agreed five years ago to set up a credit line for the Haywood County Schools maintenance department, he thought he was just doing the school system a favor.
