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New kitchen equipment for Franklin High, an activity bus and door swipes were some of the capital outlay requests approved for purchase in 2023-24 during a Macon County Board of Education workshop the afternoon of Monday, July 24.
From a list of dozens of requests totaling millions, the school board approved steamers for Cartoogechaye and South Macon elementary schools ($50,000), two double-stack ovens for FHS ($45,000), a tilt skillet for FHS ($30,000), a new activity bus ($126,000), fencing projects at Highlands School ($38,000), door swipes at all schools ($100,000), an Exceptional Children’s restroom/shower at FHS ($20,000), new carpet at East Franklin Elementary ($13,400) and new carpet in the East Franklin offices ($9,405). The total of $431,805 leaves $118,195 of the $550,000 budgeted capital outlay funds. The board can designate those funds at future meetings.
Following the unanimous vote, the request to use $431,805 will be sent to the Macon County Commissioners.
On the activity bus, Personnel Director Todd Gibbs said MCS hasn’t replaced one in three to four years. The oldest one currently in use has more than 200,000 miles on it and there are certain activity buses not sent out of town due to the risk of those buses breaking down.
Nutrition Director David Lightner talked about the kitchen needs, saying the steamers at Cartoogechaye and South Macon were his most pressing needs, followed by the double-stack ovens at FHS due to rusting. Lightner said he’d be surprised to receive grants this coming school year due to last year’s grants.
Board member Hilary Wilkes brought up the need for fencing at Highlands School, saying the playground is essentially next to the road with no fence. Board member Melissa Evans said if construction moves the Highlands School library one day, she wants the playground moved away from the road.
Originally, the board aimed to fund $20,000 for a gravel parking lot at East Franklin Elementary, but East Franklin Assistant Principal Crystal Parker said the library and main office carpet requests were more urgent.
The EC shower/restroom at FHS would give certain students who don’t have a shower at home a safe space.
The door swipes were one security request the board approved, although they discussed the $177,000 security cameras request at length. Board chair Jim Breedlove and others said there are hardly any interior security cameras at FHS. School Security Coordinator Robert Holland, who was not at the meeting, has a list of needed locations for security cameras, and that discussion can take place at a later meeting.
The capital outlay requests took roughly 90 minutes of the board’s workshop meeting, which began at 2 p.m. That meeting adjourned at 4:48 p.m. The regular monthly meeting started at 6 p.m., recessed into a closed session at 7:22 p.m., then reconvened in an open session at 8:41 p.m. Following a vote to approve the personnel reports, the meeting adjourned.
Highlands Middle
During the regular meeting, the board decided to do nothing about its June request for the county to fund the difference in the Highlands Middle School bid. Last month, the board heard that the one bid for the Highlands Middle School project came in at $1,184,185, well above the $634,000 received from the N.C. Repair and Renovation fund for the project. The board sent a request to the Macon County Board of Commissioners to fund the difference. However, Wilkes and board member Diedre Breeden reported from the liaison committee, saying the school board was asked to find a funding source for themselves. However, it was determined there was none.
Higdon property
The board talked about the Higdon property, which the county closed on at the end of June and intends for school use. Superintendent Josh Lynch said he visited the property with some other office staff and county administrators earlier in the day and that Maintenance Director Tracy Tallent made a checklist of items. Board attorney John Henning said he and county attorney Eric Ridenour are working on a lease for the property.
FHS Principal Mickey Noe said from what he saw, cooking classes can go there, that it’s a fabulous spot for catering, and the front walkway can be a stage for receptions and teacher retirement events and said it’s a beautiful property.
Henning said it’s likely that the school system would be responsible for upkeep in what is looking like a 40-year lease. The matter will be brought back before the board in August.
Summer camps
During the afternoon workshop, the board discussed the future of Summer Edventure Camps. The school system will need to use nearly $200,000 in fund balance to cover Summer Edventure Camps, which has only collected $5,000 in fees so far. Lynch said they will ask the auditor when they arrive next week if the Camp system can remain viable and solvent.
“It doesn’t need to be a money maker, it just needs to break even,” Lynch said of Summer Adventure Camp. Board member Stephanie Laseter said she researched the subject and has some “easy ways” to save money. Breedlove said the trend of spending fund balance on the camps can’t continue.
Public comments
Nathan Baer and Maggie Jennings both spoke during public comment in favor of keeping the music and chorus positions separate at Iotla Valley Elementary and generally about expanding the humanities and arts in MCS. Multiple parents spoke last month about the principal’s decision to combine the two positions.
Nantahala School
Gibbs told the board he’s still in discussion with Harper and Black & Veetch regarding the Nantahala School wastewater system replacement. Gibbs said this could be a “package plant,” meaning the system would be brought in on a truck and could be installed in “days, not weeks.”
Gibbs said the price he was quoted was higher than two years previous but said he’s working on negotiating that number down. The current Nantahala Schools wastewater system is out of date and if it fails, the entire school would be shut down.
ESSER funds
There was a discussion in the afternoon session on how to spend the remainder of the school system’s ESSER 3 funds. MCS Finance Officer Angie Cook said MCS currently has $4.5 million in ESSER 3 funds left, but with planned salary and retention bonus use, specifically for nurses and mental health counselors, they should have $2.1 million left by the end of the 2023-24 fiscal year next summer. The funds must be allocated by September 2024 and fully spent by December 2024. The board discussed possibly spending the remaining ESSER 3 funds in 2023-24 and putting the difference in county appropriations in the fund balance, but no decision was made.
Policy updates
The board went through a first reading of new MCS policies and amended existing policies, led by Henning, who called many of the policies “thou shall nots.”
Wilkes brought up potentially changing the Pregnant and Parenting Students and Employees amendment to allow accommodations for breastfeeding mothers for longer than the minimum-allowed year after birth allotted in the policy. Breedlove was worried about not having a time frame leading to abuse of the policy. Henning said principals have the discretion to allow breastfeeding accommodations after a newborn turns one.
Wilkes also questioned how an amended policy on discretionary admission could affect Highlands students who she knows live in the Scaly Mountain community, but right across the border in Georgia. Wilkes recommended conducting a discretionary students’ study. Breedlove says this policy helps start those conversations.
Board meeting plan
The board discussed a plan presented last month by Breedlove to hold school board meetings at various Franklin area schools, in addition to its annual meetings at Nantahala and Highlands schools. Breedlove presented a draft plan where those school-based meetings would begin in January 2024. Breedlove said he will present a formal schedule at the August meeting. The board seemed generally supportive of the plan.
Wilkes floated the idea of moving the annual Thanksgiving-time meeting at Nantahala School to September, before Daylight Saving Time ends, so people aren’t driving in the dark both ways.
The next Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 21, starting at 6 p.m. at the central office.