CCS Staff • Photo Staff Wellness Day at Clay County Schools was attended by 150 teachers and staff. Rock climbing was added to this event which took place March 13th. School Career and Technology Education teacher Kayla Clonts participated in scaling the wall.
By Marcia Barnes
Staff Writer
The Board of Education gave recognition to the Honors Band during the Monday meeting on March 23. Band Director Alexis Dockery said that she was proud of the high school and middle school students. Abigail McClure, Kassandra Gonzalez Machorro, Charles McClure, John Anthony Worley and Aekley Postell were ceremoniously saluted for their hard work which had earned them high ratings at the state level.
Dockery said that the high school concert band who performed recently had amazing ratings from the judges. They performed three pieces on stage which they had been preparing since January and earned “excellence” which is the second highest rating in state performance. In the sight reading room where they have only five minutes to see the music, they received the top rating of “superior.”
“We have students in our band class with one year of music to eight years,” Dockery said. The Honor Band was congratulated on their high performance at the state level by members of the board and applauded.
Three notable awards have also been received from North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The awards were announced as significant because all three are the first in North Carolina's educational history. Clay County Schools received the highest four year graduation rate in N.C. history; the schools had the highest AP scores and participation in N.C. history; and the schools had the highest Career and Technology Education credentials earned in N.C. history.
Superintendent Melissa Godfrey reported on Staff Wellness Day held March 13. This is third consecutive year of wellness day for both teachers and school staff. It is organized and facilitated by the Clay County Schools Wellness Team with the purpose to promote physical and mental wellness by providing screeners, resources and educational opportunities for staff, while also focusing on staff morale.
Godfrey said that six goals were the focus of the March 13th wellness day event: participation, to remove barriers; door prizes for participation; catering to the participants' interests; to provide a boost to staff morale; focus on overall wellness, physical and mental and planning with the future in mind.
Several opportunities were afforded participants such as screeners for blood work, hearing, vision, blood pressure and water intake scale readings. There were informational booths. Some of the staff favorites were the massage chair, cooking classes, pet therapy, pickleball, crochet, floral design and painting.
New this year was the rock climbing wall, a make your own recipe exchange, haircuts with Mike Free, cupcake decorating and next level golf.
When the results were in, 97 percent of respondents rated the event a four or five. Staff feedback included written comments of “I truly enjoyed it all” to “I enjoyed all of my three classes and the tournament.”
Staff Wellness Day is set aside from teaching classes and the duties of school staff members and becoming a tradition at Clay County Schools. One of the staff feedback considerations was “Can we have more?”
The March 13th Wellness Day was supported locally by 23 businesses and individuals who provided door prizes. There were wish list donors. There were 31 booths and presenters.
Godfrey gave the board and public present an update on construction at the Hayesville Intermediate School. Godfrey said that in the month of March they have been working on interior painting, level two seating of the auditorium has been poured, masonry and brick work continue, exterior insulation has been started, metal siding insulation will begin soon, the plumbers are continuing with water line insulation and insulation and duct work continues.
More information about the construction at the new school will be given following the scheduled construction meeting taking place later in April. It is expected Hayesville Intermediate School will be occupied before Christmas 2026.
Action taken by the board on Monday included the Cherry Road property; the Clay County Budget Request; a Lawn Care Proposal and Budget Amendments.
The five off-campus lots currently owned by Clay County Schools are situated on West Cherry Road. Godfrey said that someone has come forward asking to purchase two of the lots and how to go forward on the sale was discussed in the open meeting. Godfrey said that each of the lots are about an acre apiece, the two which are being considered to sell are 1.15 acre and 1.07 acre.
“If we decide to sell these, we have to offer them to the county first to see if they would like to buy them,” Godfrey said. This will be shared with the commissioners. Godfrey said that regarding appraisal for fair market value, there will be an updated tax value.
Collectively, the 5.1 acres that remain have a taxable value of $80,300 and Godfrey said that if the board wished to consider selling the lots there had to be a resolution passed as to whether they wanted to sell them individually or one tract altogether. A resolution passed to sell the two lots which received an inquiry and sell the remaining three lots together.
After reviewing all submissions on campus lawn care, the board voted to award the new contract to 828 Lawn Co. LLC beginning April 1 through March 31, 2027. While not the lowest bidder, the company demonstrated strong commercial experience and capacity to meet the scope of work. Their references included Franklin Ford, Macon County Recreation Park and Southwestern Community College campuses which all provided positive feedback regarding reliability and quality of service.
Chief Financial Officer Shelley Hollingsworth presented budget amendments which were approved and presented the County Budget Request which was also approved and will be presented to the Clay County Commissioners on Wednesday, April 1.
In the 2026/27 Local Budget Request, the Budget Additions were:
• $103,017 - Assistant Principal. An assistant principal is currently shared between Hayesville Middle School and Hayesville High School as a temporary staffing solution.
• $92,775 - District Social Worker. Grant funding ended in the 2024 school year. The district has covered the cost with state funds for the past two years but can no longer sustain it due to ongoing impacts .
• $203,755 - Maintenance Contracts. Shifts maintenance contract costs from state Small Schools funding to local funds due to limited sustainability of state funding amid rising wages, benefits and employer costs.
• $35,132 - Child Nutrition Indirect Cost. Previously, the district collected about $50,000 annually from the Child Indirect Costs. Beginning in FY 2021-22, an eight percent cap reduced this to approximately $30,000 - $40,000, Indirect cost can only be charged if the program maintains in excess of two months operating balance accompanied with a spend-down plan; however, due to rising food costs and ongoing equipment repairs, the fund balance has fallen below this threshold and no indirect costs can currently be collected.
• Total Local Funding Increase - $454,914.
• Total County Appropriation - $2,539,330.
The next regular board meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, April 24.