Grant Hendrix received an Honors Chorus Recognition award from the N.C. Music Educators Association. The award was presented to Hendrix by Elizabeth Moss.
By Marcia Barnes
Staff Writer
Long-awaited news on Hayesville Intermediate School was announced at the Board of Education meeting on Jan. 22. Superintendent Melissa Godfrey said that she received word on Monday the new school is up for bid.
“We’ll be in the bidding process for the next five weeks. At the end of that period we will know which contractor we’ll be working with on the new school,” Godfrey said.
Godfrey reported that in the past week she held two listening sessions for the Community Stakeholders and Community of Parents.
“There’s one more of these coming up this week at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 25 in the board room and I just wanted to make a plea if anyone is interested in coming and having the opportunity to talk about the future of Clay County Schools,” Godfrey said.
Further good news was reported in the Clay County Schools audit results for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023. Alan Thompson, CPA reported via Zoom that the school meets governmental standards for reporting and the firm encountered no significant difficulties in dealing with management in performing and completing the audit. An eight-page presentation of the audit results was available to the public at the Monday night meeting.
Recognition was given to outstanding athletes in football, soccer, volleyball and cross-country. Awards were presented to Hayesville High School students by their respective coaches who elaborated on each player’s abilities and contributions to the team.
Hayesville High School All Conference and Honorable Mention Athletes are:
• Phoebe Pietila, All-SMC Volleyball
• Madison Moore, Honorable Mention All-SMC Volleyball
• Mallory Peck, Honorable Mention All-SMC Volleyball
• Sydney Greene, All-SMC Cross Country
• Raelynn Wood, Honorable Mention All-SMC Cross Country
• Noah Carter, Honorable Mention All-SMC Cross Country
• Landon Hughes, Honorable Mention All-SMC Cross Country
• Lane O’Dell, All-SMC Football
• Taylor McClure, All-SMC Football
• Isaac Chandler, All-SMC Football
• Seth Leek, All-SMC Football
• Michael Mauney, All-SMC Football
• Tre Graves, All-SMC Football
• Dawson DeVane, Honorable Mention All-SMC Football
• Will Brown, Honorable Mention All-SMC Football
• Caden Gordon, All-SMC Soccer
• Wayne Barter, Honorable Mention All-SMC Soccer
• Steven Herrada Luna, Honorable Mention All-SMC Soccer.
Hayesville Middle School and Hayesville High School Honors Chorus Recognition was presented to Grant Hendrix, Brady Gerdes and Micah Moss.
Mid-year reporting by Hayesville Elementary School Principal Karissa Teague showed that students at the school are growing in reading and math and third graders are 70 percent above grade level in reading. In math, the number of students has nearly doubled their growth.
Numbers in growth at Hayesville Middle School were not as dramatic, however, but showed evidence of student growth in reading. Principal Missy Rich said that math continues to be a focus for improvement.
Shelley Hollingsworth presented two budget amendments to the board. From the State Public School Fund, $234,591.64 was approved with expenditures listed; and from the Federal Grants Fund, $24,039.39 was also approved by the board.
The election of Board of Education leadership was addressed and the board voted unanimously to retain Jason Shook as Chairman and Robert Caldwell as Vice-Chairman.
January is National School Board Appreciation Month. Godfrey thanked the board for their dedication to Hayesville schools and their many hours of service.
The next regular board meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 26.