001Heat. Heat. Heat. >> [music] >> Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. >> [music] >> Thank you so much. We are really excited to have Miss Jamie Davis um who is the leader of our K Valley Coral Club with us tonight and some of our coral club members. We're really excited about club opportunities at Ky Valley School. So, I'm going to let her introduce her crew. This club meets on Tuesdays and Thursday mornings at 7:30. So they are very dedicated to come to school early and practice. And now they will be singing for you when we sing. Heat. >> [music] >> Heat up here. >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. [music] Heat. seated transition [music] that every year we all great things going on at Valley and invite families in to our
002annual we shine event. This year we were highlighting community partnerships and the theme was we shine through curiosity. So I'm going to let Miss Kristen and Kelly come up and explain what that was all about. >> Well, Miss Jacob said, "What do you think about a science night?" And so immediately I was like, "Oo, let's apply for the Duke Energy Kits um as part of the North Carolina Science Festival." So we uh plan pretty much throughout the year. Um and and um along with that, we are also doing science fair at school in the elementary and middle school division. So to start with is who's the um >> Greg is the operator. >> Okay, [laughter] there's Greg. Okay. So, Gray, do you want to just keep clicking? So, these are some of the projects. Um,
003these are the middle school division projects. If you want to just peek at some of the titles. I know it's kind of small. And then if you'll click again. Oh, even better. Okay. Okay. And those are the elementary projects. So, um, they did a great job. This is probably half of our projects. These are the projects that advanced to WCU um which is the regional competition and these are the elementary students that advanced to WCU. Um and this is how they did at Western at the competition. Um and both Western and Color Valley School, we really believe the values in the conversation with the judges more than the competition. So, every student has a judge that they interview with and tell about their science and it the conversation is awesome to witness. Um, these are
004the middle schoolers and some of these guys couldn't be here but they did go to the state competition. So you see around these middle school on the left and on the right Gus's elementary um and representing the group of STEM leaders at Kowi is James Con and James can tell about his project. He was awarded the young engineer award. So we were super proud of him at the state level. We try to get the kids to follow their interest and curiosity and passion and try to make a difference at home and in their lives. And James is really passionate about soccer. So here he is at the state fair. You want to tell your project? >> Um so in my project I did if soccer balls have different aerodynamics and if they like move throughout
005the air differently. And a part of that project, I used several different types of soccer balls. And this is actually one of them. And the main part about this project was like figuring out how the stitching and the everything about the soccer ball and what creates the movement so differently throughout the air. And that's what I mainly did throughout the entire project. So you can see under the table there's a large contraption about so big and he built that for his experiment. Oh, >> awesome. >> Thank you. And then our we shine through curiosity I mentioned was part of the North Carolina Science Festival and that takes place across the state of North Carolina in April and we these were the kids so the kids got to explore all these different activities. Um a favorite
006was lighting the uh the robots little LED light. Um, another was shooting the lasers against mirrors through a maze of boxes. Um, this was plan and as you can see there's a lot of involvement in the community and we definitely could not have pulled this off without lots of partners. So, as students walked up, um they hit the welcome table and were greeted by this lovely crowd and um they handed out these bags to all the kids full of some goodies and pencils to do the activities. And this is a map of the activities that we had. We use um the Cherokee spin kits uh which is a nally awarded curriculum in some rooms. The science kits we had students and um JC students and Kobe Valley students as volunteer student ambassadors to lead the
007activities and they walked into wonder with the chemistry magic show [clears throat] with China. The department of chemistry and physics did a chemistry magic show liquid nitrogen ice cream. Uh, Miss Jacobs invited the kids to explore with these cute little passports um that are in their little bags and they were encouraged to get stamps and find Kelvin. I spy Kelvin. And here's one of the little guys off to explore. So Kelvin's the spokes for the festival and there were six different types of scientists hidden around the building. And one of my favorite stories was a kid saying like, "I got all my Kelvin's but I can't get the last one." And so, did you find the one by the media center? And I've never seen it run so fast through school. And so, there's the
008media center one that you found. And then the PTA put together um door prizes for the kids who put out their passports. Um so, our uh highlights from our festival were the student ambassadors. We had students from the high school, from early college, from um Western. We had gear partners there. part partners from Appalachin State and the PTA and um the Smoke Mountain High School Smart Team and the Science Olympiad from the high school was there. His um Great Smoky Mountain National Park. So all these people pitching together, but but my favorite was seeing our students in the leadership role. And um I think we don't have a super lot of time, so I'm not gonna I I will later show you a video of the ambassadors talking about what it felt to give back
009to the little kids at school and how it was just so great to see kids figuring things out, engineering, and smiling. And um so thank you to our partners. A lot of you are here tonight, which is so awesome to see all these great kids together. And I don't have more to say, but I think this is probably a good start. [laughter] Thank you so much for the opportunity. Thank you. [applause] >> Thank you. Now we'll move on to special recognitions. >> Hello board members. Um my name is uh Lily Cox. I'm the executive director of North Carolina Association for Teaching, Learning, and Leading. We're a 72-year-old organization in our state that supports educators in the whole child curriculum and instruction. And we every year we have an annual conference. This year, because twothirds of
010the state had an ice storm uh that stretched all the way across even down into the sand hills, we had to cancel our conference for the first time in about 40 years. So, I've been on the road delivering our awards across the state. And so, this award tonight is for our NCATL distinguished educator award. It is presented to a member of NCATL who has made significant contributions in the area of curriculum and instruction as a teacher or administrator as attested by innovative programming improved or increased achievement or performance of students and a demonstrated increase in the efficiency and effectiveness with with which fiscal human and or physical resources are used. I'm here to present this to your superintendent Dr. Dana Ayes. [applause] CONGRATULATIONS, [applause] DR. S. >> Thank you very much. and Lily drove three
011hours to get here for that. So, I really appreciate that. >> All right. Next, we are going to recognize our students who were selected for governor's school. So, if I could have Leah, Olivia, and Everly to come on up front. So, I think this might be the first time ever in Jackson County, we've had three Governor School students selected uh for a summer, and it's pretty remarkable. So, congratulations to you all. I want to read a little bit about them. Three amazing JCPS students have been invited to attend the North Carolina Governor School this summer. Leah Jeff is a junior at JCEC and submitted for dance. Olivia Holt, also a junior at JCEC, submitted for natural science. and Everly Kemp, a junior at Smoky Mountain High School who applied for social science. The Governor's School
012of North Carolina is the oldest statewide summer residential program for gifted and talented high school students in the nation. The program is administered by the state board of education and North Carolina Department of Public Instruction through the Office of Advanced Learning and Gifted Education. Each summer, selected students are invited to Governor School to help build a learning community during a four-week residential session. Students attend classes in one of 10 disciplines, participate in interdisciplinary classes and performance, hear from guest speakers, and enjoy campuswide activities, all with the purpose of learning for its own sake and discovering new possibilities. So, thank you for Leah, Olivia, and then Everly for representing Jackson County Public Schools. And again, I think this is the first time ever we've had three in one summer. So, congratulations. [applause] >> [applause] >> Yeah.
013>> All right. Next, we're going to have a a whole host of folks come up here because this is our hostess student. So, if you are a hostess student who's with us tonight, come on up. And Miss Day and Miss Ash, where are y'all? Is Miss Smith here with us by any chance? No. Okay, come on up. Stand back this way a little bit so we can get a picture without that podium. I'm g standing. >> This evening, JCPS is proud to recognize our ex our outstanding Smoky Mountain High School HOSA students for their exceptional achievements at the state level. This year, the state competition was held on March 25th through 27th in Greensboro. State winners include Izzy Joiner, first place in nursing assistant that assist Gracie Lee there. Gracie Lee Irons, third place in
014nursing. I don't think she's here this evening. Kayn Allen and Emma Pollock, fourth place in EMT. [applause] Logan Cunningham, first place in life support skills. [applause] Ellie Miller and May Custer, top 10 in occupational therapy. [applause] Grayson Grayson Hansen, fourth place in respiratory therapy. [applause] Angelina Rivera, top 10 in respiratory therapy. [applause] Berkeley Albrighten, first place in personal care. and Melania World sixth place in medical assisting. [applause] Students placing invitation are invited to compete at the HOSA International Leadership Conference this year in Indianapolis in June. Those students are Izzy Joiner, Gracie Lee Irons, Kayn Allen, Emma Pollock, Logan Cunningham, Ellie Miller, Grayson Hansen, and Melania World. We're also especially proud that several of these students are already serving our community as certified nursing assistants in local nursing homes. And four students have received sponsorships from
015their employers to attend ILC. These students continue to represent our schools and community with excellence, professionalism, and a passion for health care. And they couldn't do it without Miss Ash and Miss Kayla Day. So, give them a round of applause. [applause] I'm gonna add live here and say this is the future of our health care right here. So take care of them. for parents to see this goes on for you. [laughter] [applause] So this is a nice transition period. So, if you wish to leave a because the recognitions are over, you are welcome to do so. I'll ask the folks in the hallway if they could just wait until everybody gets out that wants to come out and vacates a seat. And then we'll make sure that we pause until everybody gets in. >> Thank
016you. That's Bill Davis and he's the Jackson County P. And so our kids that are going to be featured in the American is going to do some at hospital. That's crazy. Okay, perfect. came in after hard copies in the deadline. Perfect. There's another seat over here on the end. I may sit on the floor right here. Unless you don't think that would be good. I don't have any more space. >> If there are any students that would like to sit on the carpet up here, you're welcome to. Or adults. If an adult wants to sit on the carpet, you're welcome to. >> I would sit on the carpet. >> I would rather sit on the carpet. >> I'd never be able to get back up. Oh, we're far beyond that. >> Okay, let's go ahead.
017>> Okay. >> All right. Do I have a motion to approve tonight's or the draft open session minutes of the regular meeting on March 24th, 2026? >> I make a motion that we approve the open session minutes from the March meeting. >> I'll second that motion. >> All in favor? >> All right. On to information and Dr. with the superintendence report. >> This one's a little longer than normal, so bear with me. Good evening, chair and board members. We are less than a month away from the conclusion of the school year and it is our busiest time of the year. In a few short weeks, students will be taking their end of grade and end of course assessments. All students have the opportunity to retest if needed and I strongly encourage families to allow this
018to happen. It is a chance for students to feel confident by passing these assessments and it positively impacts the school performance grades. By the time our board meets again, promotion ceremonies and graduations will have occurred. Good luck to all of our seniors who will be venturing out into the world. If you wish to cheer them on, the annual JCPS Grad Walk will take place this Friday, May 1st, at the top of the stairs at the Jackson County Public Library beginning at 1 p.m. We encourage you to line the streets, stay out of the street, line the sidewalk. Special Olympics was held two weeks ago and it was, as usual, a a momentous day. Students were thrilled to participate and I was grateful to have many students and community members who volunteered and cheered on our
019Special Olympians. Thanks to the Jackson County Recreation Depart Recreation Department for the setup and support of this worthy event and Special Olympics Coordinator Charlotte Masters for a really good day. Earlier this month, each school provided a time for county commissioners and commissioner candidates to tour schools. Commissioner candidate Marsha Almond and current commissioner John Smith attended some of the tours. Additionally, we hosted Senator Kevin Corbin at Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountain High School as part of bring a legislator to school week. I'm always excited to welcome community members into our school and see the good work and needs of our campuses. I'll add a note there that Senator Corbin also joined Miss Bordon at Smoky Mountain High School on Saturday for the musical The Music Man because he had sang the same musical in high school.
020So um always grateful to have uh him in our buildings. Progress continues on the Capitol building building projects. If you haven't noticed, the Smoky Mountain High School track construction has already begun. We will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Fair View cafeteria and kitchen on Monday, May 4th at 100 p.m. Everyone's invited. We're awaiting final surveys for the bus garage project which has which was initially delayed. However, we have some dire needs for that building and we are reviewing plans for more timely construction. Last week, Pinnacle provided updated drawings for Blue Ridge, and this is being reviewed with Venoi Construction for more firm financial numbers. The Smoky Mountain Middle School project has certainly required much attention by my team, the architect, and the construction staff. County manager Kevin King has shared the allocated funding
021with the teams many times. The location site work is extremely costly and may consume a great deal of the $52 million in grant funds. Our teams have decreased the footprint several times and cut 12 classrooms from our original plan. However, we will be able to adequately accommodate 800 middle school students. Unfortunately, just the sidewalk and building will exhaust most of the funds and we have been asked to plan for no athletic fields at Smoky Mountain Middle School. This is hugely disappointing. The only way to ensure we have fields is for the county to allocate additional funds for Smoky Mountain Middle School. Let me be clear, the building will be built and there is no need to worry because we received an extension for our DPI $52 million grant. Um I applied for that extension back
022in February just as a precaution and we were successfully granted that. So we're not going to lose the $52 million. However, without more county funding, we will not have athletic fields at Smoky Mountain High School, excuse me, Smoky Mountain Middle School initially. So, I would encourage you to talk to people in our community about what that means for us um as we move forward with the building because it will happen. But we will be without fields as that um time comes. And as always, I just want to thank you for supporting our schools and our students because you can see we have incredible folks among us. So, respectfully, >> thank you, Dr. Harris. Up next on the agenda is the Smuggy Mountain High School and JCEC athletics uh discussion. This is something that's been brought
023up several times over the past couple years and the uh frequency has grown over the past year. So I asked Dr. put this on the agenda and I think um Miss Granning and Mr. Hopkins and and Mr. Young have all >> prepared to speak. I'm sorry, Mr. Robinson, sorry. are all prepared to speak. I don't have any particular order for that to occur. So, whoever would like to speak first, it's up to you. All right. Go ahead, Miss Granny. [applause] It's always dangerous when they start with applause. I haven't said anything yet. Okay, here we go. So good evening superintendent heirs, esteemed chairman, and esteemed members of the board. First, I would like to thank each and every one of you for your presence and your commitment to serving the students of Jackson County Schools.
024I truly appreciate your willingness to listen in order to fully understand before making a decision. You will hear tonight from students, parents, and community members. I will not apologize for the number of people in this room. They will share with you concerns about logistics, finances, equity, and inclusion. I appreciate you taking the time to listen to each individual and to truly understand their perspective. The last time that we had a public discussion around including Jackson County Early College for athletic participation through Smoky Mountain High School was approximately four years ago. At that time I was principal of Smoky Mountain High School. Today we are having that conversation again approximately four years later and I am the principal of Jackson County Early College. The irony is not lost on me. I can almost hear God laughing.
025When it was first proposed four years ago, I will be honest that I was adamantly against including JCEC's numbers. I worried that including the approximate 120 students at that time would push us over in our classification and potentially change our conference. And then and I asked her permission to say this. Dr. Ay said something to me in those discussions that I could not argue with. She said, "Evelyn, this is what's best for kids." I couldn't argue with that. That was a fact then and it is a fact now. I knew this firsthand by being an athlete myself in high school. This is still what is best for kids. Yet today that discussion is a little different. It is not a matter of athletica eligibility or nonathletic eligibility. It has been proposed that JCEC be removed
026and made a 1A classification. There is a host of logistical and financial challenges that immediately spring to mind when I hear this. But the persistent thought that I have is that this is still limiting student choice. While moving to a 1A would still allow us to participate in athletics, it would only be for the teams that we could field. Becoming a 1A with only 130 students in the school would force students to choose between participating in a great many team sports or accessing the early college model. For many of our students and our parents, this feels like an unfair trade-off. They value both experiences deeply and they should not feel as though they must sacrifice one to access the other. Are we in the business of supporting students or are we in the business of
027limiting their options and their opportunities? Another important thing to note is that if you decide to remove us or include us, Smoky Mountain High School's conference does not change. They are in a 4A 5A split conference with or without us. They are still playing the exact same teams for conference play. I challenge you to look up how Smokey did against their 4A opponents this year. If being a 4A is the goal, I think it is important to see how Smokeoky competed against these teams. I think that we can all agree that the goal is always to create more successful teams. So I ask you tonight, should the solution to that be to attempt to lower the bar or to invest in growing our student athletes? I want to share a final thought as you think
028about how we need to move forward. Each of these faces out here is a member of our school family at JCEC. Each of these people has a stake in the success of the early college. Yet, the people that are not present tonight are our future students. Ultimately, the decision that you make impacts our current families most definitely, but it also impacts the future of JCEC. We're moving us from Smokeoky's numbers and requiring us to be a 1A limits the choices and the opportunities of future students and families who are looking for an accelerated pathway or a way to access college for free. I truly appreciate your time and your service to our students and our community. [applause] >> [applause] >> Good evening. I purposefully did not prepare a speech for tonight because I think it's
029very important that every single person here that came to speak gets to be heard. So, I'm gonna keep this very, very short. If this is a conversation about whether or not students should have access to sports, then the conversation needs not to happen. Of course, they need to have access to sports. I'll say that all day long. If this is a conversation about whether or not sports can be sustained at the early college, I think that's a conversation that needs to happen. I trust your guidance. I trust your leadership. Whatever it is that you decide, we will we will support that and we will make sure that everything happens that every student feels supported. I will say my biggest fear I have two I have a lot of coaches here tonight. I purposely didn't ask
030a lot of people to come. My coaches are worried. I've had a lot of them voice to me why they would like to see this happen, but at the same time do not want any students to feel that they don't value them. I don't want to see a divide between the two schools. That that should not be anybody's goal. I will also say in terms of 4A and 5A, my concern is not the conference. When this was brought up, I was immediately hearken back to when Dr. Ays and Coach Young and myself had to drive down to speak to the NCHSAA and avoid being placed in a 5A 6A conference split. It is very easy for teams to pull a singleton school and put them in a conference that benefits themselves. Make no mistake about
031it. Bunkham County wants us in their conference. They wanted us in Franklin. In the conference we are in, I think that we are competitive. I think that's where we need to be or even ADMs right now. Are we getting closer to a 3A? So, my fear is not about the conference that we're currently playing in. My my fear is what conference will they put us in if we stay with what we've got right now. The last thing I will say in terms of this decision, it should not be about wins. If you think this is going to equal a lot of wins, you're wrong. That is not what you're going to see. I will also say if you think that this is about lowering the bar, ask yourself why teams in 3A, 2A, and 1A
032that have dominated for decades are not clamoring to climb up and play better competition. That's not what the discussion is about. I thank you for your time and I trust your decision and any information you need from us, just ask. Thank you. [applause] Hey everyone. Um, I just wanted to bring up that the high school, North Carolina High School Association, um, they create and determine classifications for a reason. And the reason that they do this is one of their core values, which is fair competition. So when you look at fair competition, you want athletes that are comparing like they're on a comparable level. And so when we look at Smoky Mountain High School um and the combination of JC together, it puts us in a 5A classification. Well, I can tell you that [clears throat]
033based on our numbers, which are at the bottom 10 of 5A, we then have to compete against the top level of 5A, which is close to,200 students. Um and when you look at that number of athletes then that are able to participate at a school. It puts us at a competitive disadvantage. And so when you're looking at, you can't look simply at a conference and what conference we're in. We're really looking at at the ability to then play in the state playoffs. It matters. You're talking about moving teams up and down in terms of competition level so that we can have athletes that are able to have more opportunities at the state playoff level to advance. So, an easy way to look at that is that Pisga High School that was in our conference, right?
034Or 4A, our volleyball team beat them twice at the end of the year, right? We beat them twice, we get placed in, we lose to a 5A school that is ranked similar to the level that they were in 4A. In the 4A level, Pisga plays a number three seed, extremely high right on the west side. They upset them. It wasn't because Pisga was playing a team that was ranked extremely high. They were looking at and saying, "Hey, these are people that we can compete with one through 24 on that side. They were able to compete at that level." And if we were in that, which were should be at a 4A level, we would be able to compete. Now, I I do want to mention when you just look at logistics of how an athletics
035program works, there are tons of moving pieces here. and I have been adamant about I care about all student athletes. I want everybody to have opportunities to play. Um that's not even a question. I think that the 1A level makes a lot of sense for JC because I think we could have a high level of success. You look at the sports that student athletes compete in. 32 of the 39 that I have listed on our rosters are swimming, track, cross country, um indoor track. And so when you're looking at those levels, you're you're able to compete at that level pretty easily and at a pretty inexpensive cost. Um, and we provided those to the board, th those numbers. But when you look at that level, I think you can jump right into competition fairly easily.
036And I think the thing that everybody needs to be aware of is that this isn't similar to what happened to make an early college in Franklin where it just gets ripped away. And so it's not that next year, meaning that 26 27 this would happen. would be the following year because realignment, the way this works is that every two years you can appeal. And so we would appeal potentially in October. And so that's how this this kind of works is that you've got an opportunity to say, "Hey, we'd have a year to kind of plan and look in advance of how we could make teams work." And I would be all about that. I think you can share coaches. A lot of people don't know that, but at a state level, you're able to share
037coaches at a competition, right? And so there's an ability, what you have to do is you have to have practices at different times, but I think there's a lot of our coaches that are willing to do that. And so I think there's a lot of ways to share coaches, share spaces, allow everybody to compete. And in my opinion, we'd have more opportunities, right? So you may think, well, there's less opportunities. Well, if I'm at a small college, similar to another one in our our county that we don't talk about a lot, Blige, you have to band together. You know your you know your teammates, you know your classmates. like, "Hey, we really need you out here on the volleyball team. We just need to get eight of us." You know, if you think about their
038six to play on the court, you want two subs and it' be really easy for JCC to have their first ever volleyball team. I think the ability to have the first of at a school is pretty cool. And I think there's a lot of people in here that have either seen the first of at Smoky Mountain High School, Silver Webster, whatever, what whatever it may have been, or even in terms of females playing athletics. I mean, there's a whole lot of options, but in terms of what JC could do, and having the ability to have students be the first of something, the first state qualifier for cross country, the first state qualifier for swimming at JC, I think could mean a lot. And I will say, I think the branding is amazing, right? JCC, I
039get the I get the phone call every single Sunday. They're the Jaguars. And I I totally love that. I think JCC Jaguars, that's important. The branding's there. their mascots's there. I think the ability to have your own athletics is there and I think that's an I think it's a great thing and I'm willing to help as however I can as an athletic director to make sure that works. There's even an ability for me to be the athletic director and help JCC get off the ground as a 1A. I think all those pieces are in place. And in our own county, we have another competing school in the Little Smoky Mountains, Blige. And Blige is smaller than JCC. And I just think we have to look at those factors and say, man, like you could have
040two teams in the same district competing, you know, competing in the same conference, which I think is also exciting in a lot of sports. Um, so I think there's a lot of opportunities. I think there's a lot of excitement that could build around it. And I just wanted to mention those things because I to me it's exciting to start something new and start something fresh. And from that perspective is kind of where I where I've seen things. And I think on the Smoky Mountain side, I think being able to compete at a fair level is important. Um, and I I just wanted to throw this last thing out here. I [clears throat] can remember traveling in a fall to JC and talking to a student athlete who didn't want to compete at a state level.
041To me, I I care whether kids are competing, and I want everybody to compete, but I also want them to feel a sense of pride that like, man, like we can do this together. should be this band of like, hey, at JCC we're known for cross country or whatever the sport swimming. I mean like we have 22 swimmers, right? JCC has an amazing like contribution to the swim program. But I think it would be amazing to say, man, we have the best 1A swim team in the state of North Carolina. I think that's where there's an opportunity. Thank you. [applause] So, I believe that's all we have for information to be presented or do you have anything that that you're wanting to >> specifically on um the athletics and the board had asked me for
042some information um through questions yesterday and I provided there just a couple of things. I gave them a packet. All of this is um information that the principal shared, but a couple of things I wanted you to hear publicly. And um if this board would get to a point that they would vote u to have JCEC split, I said if because I'm not a voting member, um the process is they would have to apply to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association to become a member. um they accept applications through April 1 or November one because we have a winter board meeting and a spring board meeting. And so um if that's what this board decides, JCEC would we would have to apply for them to become a member of the North Carolina High School
043Association. There's a $1,000 fee that goes along with that and it is non-refundable regardless of the outcome. Um so that's the first thing that one of you one of you asked me. Um, the question was asked if we as a district provide funds directly to JCEC for athletics. We do not because they currently participate on Smoky Mountain High School athletic teams. Um, so those student athletes are covered through the funds that are given to Smoky Mountain High School. Um, another thing is, and we're we're talking numbers of participation. The one thing that sometimes people don't realize is that the North Carolina High School Athletic Athletic Association does not sanction cheer and dance. So regardless of whatever this board decides to pursue or vote on, not tonight. Um if there is a decision to split, that
044doesn't mean that those two cheer and dance can't still combine to make a team because those are not sanctioned by the high school athletic association and so they don't follow the same sets of protocols and then >> yes absolutely >> about the last one when you said that of course now we don't give money to JC for sports but if the board's vote um for them to split then would the money come out of what we're currently given Smoky Mountain Athletics >> we would have to change our allocation to Smoky Mountain because Blue Ridge Early College does get an allocation of funds u from the district level. So we would have to sparse that out and see based off enrollment how much JCEC would get and how much that would mean would be removed from
045Smoky Mountain High School. That's a good question. And then lastly, uh I don't know who alluded to the the numbers, um but I shared this uh last week on a phone call with Wes, which is public knowledge also. Um our enrollment has declined at Smoky Mountain High School. Um and the early college has bumped up, I don't know, Evelyn, five to 10 kids in the last year because there's a push to increase the enrollment there uh for lots of reasons. But um So, what you're seeing is a a decrease in enrollment at Smoky High, which that always changes with cohorts as we go through, and a slight increase at um Jackson County Early College. So, the way that we are in a classification is we combine those two numbers. So, I'm just trying to give
046a little bit of the background information for the general public to understand that. And um that nothing would change whatever the vote uh is done when it's done or the board decides nothing would change for the upcoming year because numbers are pulled for the high school athletic association after every school system in North Carolina reports their numbers in the fall to North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. So, if anybody's ever heard it, it's all important about those first 20 days. We don't report our numbers to DPI until after those first 20 days. So it can shake out if children are moving across the state or across the district. So um you know if if we looked at our li numbers right now compared to what we reported last September 20 whatever date that was we
047are we are down as a district but we are down in those um schools in those combined numbers by about 60 kids. So there's various reasons for that, but I just wanted you to be clear on how those numbers are reported and where they come from. It is based on what we we the school system and schools report to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. So I don't have other information to share, but I know that there are people here that before the public comment that you may want to ask questions. the board, our principles um are prepared if you have something specific or if this is something you just want to listen to public comment later and ponder. >> Yeah, I mean this is obviously not the the last time. There will be
048an opportunity to ask questions. We're not I don't think we're looking to vote on this until maybe June or July. So that's plenty of time to absorb information, formulate questions, ask questions, get answers. But right now, if there's any questions that that anybody has of the speakers or >> now's the time to ask. >> I think we heard two versions here. If we combine Jackson County Early College and Smoking Mountain High School, one speaker said it would not be a change in the classification. Another speaker said it would be like the principal said we're not right now. They are combined. So there's >> the current situation is the schools are combined. >> I think you're you're confusing those two words. So we are in a conference that is a split 4A 5A. That's where we
049as Smoky Mountain High School are placed by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. That is based off that classification of 4A 5A. So regardless of what happens with Smoky Mountain High School and Jackson County Early College, we are almost solidly in a 4A. So our conference would not change, but our classification would change. That's about as clear as mud, isn't it? If there's no questions at this time, we'll >> go. >> You go. >> Go ahead. >> How is this going to benefit the kids? Like, are we going to have coaches? We we we had a meeting about not having enough places to practice. Huge meeting. Bigger than this. [snorts] Bigger than this. And now if we separate them, we got to have more places to practice and more coaches. And how is that
050beneficial to the kids? Can anybody answer that for me? [applause] >> Anybody? I'm ask >> I think that's a huge concern. I mean, that was exactly where I was going is we're already limited with practice spaces for the teams that we have. How are we going accomodate additional teams. Um, we get the regular emails where we're begging for bus drivers. We're begging for I mean officials. There's not enough officials. So, here we go again. We're going to have to have additional officials. Do we have the resources to truly make this happen? >> Say when those concerns were brought up before though, they were ignored. So, >> but I think >> please come to the mic. So from a logistical standpoint right now the way that it works for instance let's say it's the swim team
051right we currently have 32 kids that are on that team and so you would have to determine practice times which obviously I'm meeting with Anthony this next next week I mean we're trying to find different times in in general for that team to be able to practice but that's simply a logistical thing in terms of traveling to meets I mean all teams are allowed to travel with each other. So like the swim team for instance could still ride the same bus that is already riding and then they split apart at the meet. They just compete on separate teams. The same coach can coach the same two teams. Um and we we've talked about that with the high school association. Same with track, same with cross country. And there are schools in the in North Carolina
052that currently do this. Um depending on their district and their size, there is an ability. Um, now obviously I think that on some level looking at the ability to add an assistant coach or other pieces for support could could be needed um depending on the size of the teams, but based on our current size, we're already managing these teams. And so we're not talking about adding more kids necessarily, but there's an ability to split apart and maybe we're adding five to six kids is still manageable based on our current structure. So it's really trying to leverage how how do we use our current infrastructure to then help ACE have competition on that level, not necessarily splitting apart and having brand new coaches because I do agree that that could be an issue. But if you
053look longterm and we're going towards a middle school setup, I think there will be more coaching positions eventually that are essentially closed out within the community if that makes sense from all of our K8 schools. So there could possibly be more coaches available. That was the other part just wanted to mention. But as far as team sports, so if JC were to want to also have team sports, >> yes, >> coaches are not sure >> going to be able to be shared. Buses and transportation would not be able to be shared. So that's >> I think we'd have to similarly how Blue Ridge is. And so when they need a baseball like let's say they had enough kids that said, "Hey, we want to form a baseball team." >> They have to go through the
054same process where they have to then find a baseball coach to coach that team. And so they're currently set up one a for us. So, I think that there's an easy way to say if we had enough for a team sport, it would go through the same process that they may be there one year and may not be there the next. And I think Blige has felt that same pain. A lot of one's do. Um, but smaller schools go through that on a yearly basis. Sometimes it's a cohort basis and you have it for four years. I mean, that's kind of the eb and flow. And, um, there was even a an email out today from the high school association um, just talking about teams that have folded at higher levels. I mean there there's
055been some changes. I think you just have to navigate those the best your ability. Um and you have to look at the smaller team sports that are easier to fill. I think initially that's why I mentioned volleyball because the number of athletes to fill a team or participate. We played a team in playoffs who only had they had seven girls and so they had made playoffs and they were a 5A with seven girls. Now they're a smaller charter school that somehow fits within that that range, but those are those pieces where I think you just have to get a little creative. Um, and we're already pretty good about navigating field space based on all the community partners that already come into our our high school. And also, um, we navigate with the middle school currently.
056And so, I do think there's opportunities there. And we're talking about, let's say we're talking about running sports. I do think there you can start staggered times. I mean, there's a whole lot of different things I think you can do to get creative. And then talking to some of our coaches, um, you know, they seem to want to embrace those opportunities. So, I think that there's some advantages to it. Um, and I think it's just some nuance. >> I have one more question. >> I think there's one student, >> maybe two on the tennis team that's from JCC. >> Um, I know there's one because I would backtrack picking her up to get her to tennis. >> Sure. >> Every once in a while. >> If if JCC doesn't have but one student there who
057wants to play tennis, they just lose the privilege of playing tennis if it's split up. >> [cheering] [applause] >> It does depend on the sport. So they we could say collectively, yes, but it does depend on sport. So for instance, like golf like there there could be a minimum of three that need to be on that sport in order to count your score towards a state playoff. So doesn't mean you can't participate, doesn't mean you can't play against someone. But if we're talking about advancing in the playoffs, there's a whole different level of that. And I do think we need to actively talk about there are participants in athletics and there are non-cut sports. And so in non-cut sports, there are some kids that never ever compete. They're still part of the team. They're still
058valued. They still get to practice in. They still get to put on their college resume. Nobody at college says, "Hey, did how many games did you play in as a junior in tennis or how many matches?" They just want to know that you were participated in extracurricular activities. So, I do think that there's multiple things you can look at there in terms of participation as opposed to if the end goal is to win a state championship and some level like Derek Hinkle. Like clearly, he would want to be on a team that could allow him to advance and and and compete and I think we have to look at all those little pieces. Um, but yeah, every sport is different and for instance, wrestling. Um, I know that there is one JCDC wrestler and she
059would do fairly well at a 1A level, like to the level where I when I've talked to the coach that it would would be really exciting to see what she could do at a 1A. Um, and so I think those are all those pieces where we have to look and say, well, there's one you don't have to go to a dual meet in wrestling, which is the team part of that event. She can compete as just an individual and she has to do 15 matches. So, like there's all these nuances to every sport, but I do think we'd have a lot of opportunities. There would be some choices. But I I meant to say this earlier, but life is full of choices. And like you're going to have to make them. I I mean, realistically
060though, like choosing to go to college, like you're going to choose a college that has some things that another college may not. And I mean, I I just think at that point when you're choosing to go to school, you're choosing like, hey, I I may want to participate in these sports as opposed to another. And football would be an easy example, right? is just the largest sport and so you would have to go to Smoky Mountain in order to participate in that because >> Okay. A one would has a hard time filling that. Yes. >> No, no, no, no. I'm tracking with you. When you're saying choices, you're saying if a person wants to participate on that level, they would have to choose Smokey if if it was separated. >> Not necessarily. It would take
061that one a So it would take it would take JC having students who want to participate in athletics, enough of them. >> Right. So it would be more participation from student athletes there to then compete at that level. >> Okay. >> So for tennis like they would need five or six girls to say or boys whatever you know whichever season you're talking about to say hey I'd want to play tennis for that them to compete as a team. You need at least five I think. So >> thank you. Any more questions at this time? >> We've got a couple more information. >> So, up next with information is Christy Walker with the third third quarter uh Bank of American Audits. >> She's probably making her way in here. There she is. So, good evening, Mr.
062Chair, Dr. Ays, members of the board. Um, I bring two information items to you tonight, and I will be very brief. Uh, the first is our third quarter audits that include internal school audits and our Bank of America purchasing card audits. There were no fraud, findings, or negligence in any of those audits. So, all of our accounts are in good order in those two areas. question. >> Would you like me to continue to the second item? >> Yes. Go ahead, please. >> Okay. It's the unudited financial statement. You have a copy of this report in your board packets. You have some comparison data for last year and it continues to reflect that we are within our 2026 budget resolution with our spending. If there are any questions about either of those two items, I'm happy
063to answer them. Now, >> I did question. I noticed that um you know the percentage all these funds need to be spent by June 30th. Correct. >> Correct. >> And capital outlay fund it said we were at 1.03%. >> Yes. >> So can you explain how >> Let me back up just a little bit. Not all funds have to be um spent to zero by June 30th. You have state funds which are at 80% which is this is a good question. Um you have that fun that's getting where it needs to be. If you look at last year, it's right at where it was the previous year, right? >> Same with um your federal funds. A lot of those you can carry them over >> and so you want to spend what you need of
064this year. And same with your local um most of it will be extended this year as we get into the May and June months. The capital outlay is a little wonky this year because we are engaged in all of those projects for the county. So we have to show those assets on our books which means we have to have an increased balance in that account. And so it looks like we haven't spent hardly anything because that's a very large balance that we are not going to spend dollars for but we are going to add value to our assets. >> Okay. And we that's not required to be spent by June. >> That is not >> good. Thank you. >> You're welcome. It's a good question. Any others? >> Thank you Christie. You have something you
065want to add? >> I do. Um I was uh notified today about this opportunity that some people may be aware of, but I thought it was a wonderful opportunity for um Jackson County Public Schools, Western Carolina University through the um speech and hearing clinic and health and human services uh sciences department are offering a summer day camp for rising third, fourth, and fifth graders with speech language and or reading disabilities and including dyslexia. And so these are real small groups. It's evidence-based intervention. And the best part, it's fun and meaningful literary activities. And so I would love to see some of our students take advantage of this. And so I'm going to give one of these to each of our principles. There's a letter that gives all this information. Snacks are going to be provided.
066Um it's a highly um motivated group of instructors and it would be a wonderful opportunity for some of our kids that may be a bit behind to bring up some of those skills this summer. So, um it's called Camp Lead. It's um a grant-f funded opportunity for language and literacy engagement and development. So, I'll give each of the uh principles these this information and any of the lead teachers that are um listening or are here. Um if you know of students that could benefit from this, please encourage the parents to look into this. Thank you so much. >> Thank you, Gail. All right, so now we're at the open session for public comments. Um before we get started I think Chad would you like to >> Yeah. And by the way it's good to be
067back attorney here for many many years. Uh and good to see you guys are still doing well. Um your public public comment policy uh will require some adjustment tonight because you have an anticipated larger group of speakers. According to your policy, public comment is to last only 30 minutes except by majority vote. So if the board desires to go beyond 30 minutes, it needs to do so and vote. Um and second policy also states that if an unusually large number of people that means this probably vote request to speak a majority of the board may decide to reduce the time of each speaker which they normally have three minutes two minutes one minute whatever or leave it at three minutes whatever you decide that is a discretionary item you do have to decide you want
068to beyond 30 minutes, majority of the vote needs to vote on that. >> So, I do I mean we have quite a few, but I think everybody deserves their three minutes to speak. Um I think we all anticipated this being a longer meeting. >> Um I do think that we need to hear from everyone. >> Make the motion. >> I make a motion that we make an adjustment to our public comment for this evening to allow all speakers three minutes. I second that motion. >> All in favor? [applause] >> Okay, you're going to have to bear with me because the first thing I will do is read the instructions for all of you. And then we have received 11 written comments that will be uh read before anyone speaks. Four of them were received after
069the deadline. So I have made copies and put them in the board's packet. Um, but I will read seven of them. And additionally, we have 24 speakers signed up. So, that's going to be at least an hour. So, let me start out with our instructions first and we'll go from there. Each month during part of the regularly scheduled board meeting, time is set aside for citizens to address the board through public comment. Each speaker will receive three minutes to present comments. However, the public comment session will not exceed 30 minutes unless the board votes to do so, which they've done. During the public comment period, we will recognize speakers in the order in which they signed in. Substitute speakers will not be permitted and they may not donate any portion of their time to another
070speaker. If a speaker is unable to present their entire information within the specified time limit, the speaker may provide the board with the additional information in written form. Um, the board has voted to not reduce your time, so you will each have three minutes. At any time, the board may also establish additional procedures which they have not done. Written public comments may be sent in advance of the board meeting and will be shared with the board during the meeting. All written public comments must be received by 4 PM the day prior to the board meeting and public comments are designed for the board to listen to you. They will not engage in dialogue or answer questions and complaints about individual employees or students are prohibited, please. So, I'll start off with the first public comment
071that we received. This came in from Megan Rose Harrison on Thursday, April 23rd at 9:57 a.m. To the Board of Education, I am the parent of a newly accepted Jackson County Early College student, and I'm here to ask that you maintain JCEC students ability to participate in Smoky Mountain High School athletics. For our family, JCEC represents an incredible academic opportunity, but has always only been possible for us because we knew students could still fully participate in the high school experience. For my son, that includes soccer, which is the central part of who he is. If this policy changes, families like mine will be forced to choose between academic opportunity and athletic participation. This is not a choice we expected to have to make, and it's the one that may lead our students to leave JCEC
072altogether. From a data standpoint, JCEC students are not a small group of on the margins. About 38% of JC students participate in sports, many in multiple sports, and they actively help sustain team rosters. I understand that recent discussion has raised concern about fairness and program structure. Those are valid conversations, but removing JC students does not solve those issues and may instead weaken participation and strain already limited resources. This decision has also real logistics implications. more staffing, more facilities, and more transportation in a system that already faces constraints. Most importantly, this is a student- centered issue. We are talking about students such as my son as young as 13 being asked to choose between a rigorous academic pathway and meaningful extracurricular involvement. JCE works because it supports the whole student. Athletics are part of that. I
073respectfully ask that you vote to preserve JCC students participation in Smoky Mountain Athletics and keep the current model in place. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Megan Harrison. The next uh public comment was received Sunday, April 26th at 10:54 PM. From Wendy and Tyler Good. Dear members of the JCPS board, I am writing this letter as a parent of a Jackson County Early College student. My son, Weston Good, will be a senior in the fall. He has been a vital part of the Smoky Mountain High School cross country team and swim team. Although quite a bit of these teams are made up of JCEC students, there is no way that JCEC could support a full team of these two sports or other sports that other JC students participate in. As you are aware,
074JCEC students are competing on Smoky Mountain High School football, soccer, basketball, volleyball, track, cross country, and swimming. In addition, students are in the band, chorus, ROC, and dance team. This year, the Smoky Mountain High School cross country team was one school away from going to state and three students individually went to state. One is junior at JCEC student. Also, the swim team did very well this year, many making it to state, many for JCEC students. Jackson County Early College fought hard to be allowed to participate in sports at Smoky Mountain High School. It would be a great slide backwards to take this right away. There is a long list of arguments to not split JCE from Smoky Mountain. First argument would be without JCEC 90% of these students would be attending Smoky Mountain High School.
075So they would be counted. Second argument would be a lot of the JCEC students make up a lot of these teams and could possibly leave Smoky Mountain High School without the amount needed to field a team at Smokeoky. Third argument would be that Jackson County Public Schools is for all students. Fourth argument would be not having money for JC to have their own teams and JCPS resources would be stretched. Fifth argument would be that JCEC would not have enough students to field all the teams that current JCEC students are participating in at Smoky Mountain High School. Personally, as a mother of a JCEC student and a Smoky Mountain High School player, it would be a self-esteem blow for my son to not be able to compete his senior year. Playing on teams has given him
076so much confidence and sometimes serves as the reason to keep going when times get hard. I would hate to lose this and for other students to miss out on the same. Thank you for taking time to read this letter. I would hope that you all would come to the right conclusion that Jackson County Early College students bring a lot to Smoky Mountain High School. Thank you, Wendy. Good. Next comment. Teresa Cruz Paul received. >> Thank you. Third public comment is from, let's see here, Brittany Tyson. This one's a long one, so here we go. Uh, dear Jackson County School Board members and county commissioners, which are not involved in this meeting, uh, thank you for the opportunity for a public forum to discuss Jackson County Early Colleg's potential withdrawal from Smoky Mountain High School athletics.
077My name is Britney Tyson. I am a parent of a freshman student athlete at Jackson County Early College. We are grateful that our rural community has provided students the opportunity to pursue both advanced academic placement and athletics. This year, athletics has played a pivotal role in connecting our family with the broader community, building school pride, and allowing our student athlete to grow in a healthy way through discipline, teamwork, and responsibility. I join several families with the concern about the proposed changes regarding JCC's separation from Smoky Mountain High School athletics. I ask each of you to consider the fundamental purpose of a student athletic program. Athletics are an extension of education, not separate from it. They contribute to student development by building teamwork, leadership, discipline, and character. This aligns with our district's priority of to providing
078a total school experience for students in our system. The phrase in our system is important. Jackson County Early College and Smoky Mountain are part of the same system, the same community. Our students already interact outside of school through shared activities, jobs, churches, and friendships. This proposal risks creating unnecessary division within an already connected community. There is also a growing concern about prioritizing competitiveness over community, but at what cost? And what message are we sending to our students? Are we a district focused on short-term competitive outcomes, or are we committed to the long-term goal of developing well-rounded students and futures future leaders in Jackson County? Nationally, less less than 2% of high school athletes go on to play division one sports and Only about 7% continue to compete at any college level. That means for the
079vast majority of students, the true value of athletics is not in advancing to the next level, but in the skills, relationships, and p personal growth they gain along the way. Multiple studies of Fortune 500 leadership consistently show that a large majority, often around twothirds or more, of executives participated in competitive sports at some level. So, if we truly want students to achieve their personal best and become future leaders, then limiting their opportunities not is not the way to enrich their futures. By separating JCEC from Smoky Mountain High School athletics, opportunities for our students would likely decrease significantly due to smaller enrollment numbers. This pattern is already reflected in surrounding counties where early college programs such as Tri County Early College, Mon County Early College, and Haywood County Early College have more limited or no athletic
080participation due to size and resource constraints. Most importantly, reducing opportunities forces students and families into an unnecessary choice between academics and athletics. Prioritize prioritizing one at the expense of the other weakens both. The strongest student athletes are not those who must choose between the two, but those who are supported in balancing both successfully. In conclusion, maintaining shared athletic participation provides the greatest opportunity for our students, strengthens community connection, and supports development of well-rounded individuals. It remains in alignment with the Jackson County School District's miss mission to engage, enlighten, and enrich the students of Jackson County, equip equipping them to achieve their personal best as contributing members of their community, as well as the North Carolina High School Athletic Association's vision of developing and inspiring greatness through intercolastic athletic experiences. I join my fellow families and
081students in asking you to deny the request to separate our athletic programs. I respectfully urge you con to consider the long-term impact of this of this decision and to prior prioritize unity, access, and student growth over division. JC and Smoky Mountain High School are stronger together. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Britney Tyson. Next one um is from Tyler Good um on Monday, April 27th at 3:43 p.m. Members of the Jackson County School Board, over the past three years, our has been tremendously grateful to you and everyone at Smoky Mountain High who've allowed our son and many of his fellow JCC students to participate in high school athletics. I understand the rationale behi behind trying to separate the two schools so that Smoky Mountain can compete at a lower classification within the North
082Carolina High School Athletic Association. As a lifelong sports fan and someone who covered high school sports here for more than a decade, I can respect doing everything within our power to enjoy success on athletic fields, courts, and tracks. For me, the guiding principle in this debate is simple. What is best for our children are students. If we're talking about cross country or swimming, I suppose JC this year would likely have fielded far more competitive teams in those sports than Smokeoky. But for JCEC students who want to play soccer, football, basketball, or any other number of sports, the pathway becomes exponentially more difficult. Challenges in those sports include facilities, scheduling practices, finding coaches, ordering separate sets of uniforms. Most likely, JCEC students who want to play these sports will leave JCC and go to Smokeoky, as
083was something of a tradition prior to the decision to allow JCEC students to play at Smokeoky. Smokey has used the exact same uniforms for cross country all three years of my son's athletic career so far and they're in need of new ones. Does it really make sense to now order a set for Smokeoky and a set for JCEC? But again, the bigger question for me is this. What's best for our students? Should we provide more opportunities for our students or deny our students of the opportunity to pursue their athletic dreams while also attending the school that's a best fit for their academic goals? I lean towards providing as many opportunities as possible to as many student athletes as possible. I hope you will too. Tyler Norris Good. Um, this is from Robin Profett received Monday,
084April 27th at 3:51 p.m. Good morning. I would like to address several concerns regarding the proposition to no longer allow JC students to participate in sports at Smoky Mountain High School. First, how long has this subject been under consideration? We as JCEC parents are just now hearing about it and would like more time to prepare appropriate arguments. Second, JCEC has a limited number of students. Would would their exclusion really make a significant difference as to which division the school played in? Third, have you considered and addressed the negative aspects of how this would affect JCEC students and budgets? For instance, JCEC does not have any sports facilities. Where would the kids practice? Where would they compete? How could they even field a team with the limited number of students? How would the school need to
085adjust their budget to be able to hire qualified coaches and provide gear and uniforms? In reality, it seems impossible that JCEC would be able to do any of it. Fourth, sports are supposed to foster teamwork and inclusion. How does this proposal embody either of those things? As I have said before, exclusion is never the answer. The kids at JCEC have chosen to take on the task of completing high school and college courses at the same time in order to advance and enhance their path to success. They should not be punished for this choice. I hope that you will take these comments into consideration as you move forward and make the only decision that protects all JCPS students. Thank you, Robin Profett. I think this is the last one. Uh Jessica A uh received Monday, April
08627th at 3:55 PM. I am unable to attend tomorrow night's schoolboard meeting and respectfully request that my comments be read during the public comment section. Thank you for taking time this evening for public comments related to high school athletics. Three years ago, when deciding which high school to attend, my son did not plan to pursue sports at all. He chose JCEC for the rigorous academics and the smaller learning environment. participation in athletics was not even on his radar at that time. It was during the spring of his 10th grade year only one year ago that he tentatively attended a trial practice with the Smoky Mountain High School track and field team. Some of his classmates who had run cross country in the fall encouraged him to give it a try. He was immediately hooked. By
087the first meet, he was launching into the triple jump and getting his first taste of competitive running. This past fall, he joined the cross country team, and now athletic participation is a regular feature of his high school experience. It turns out he loves being a member of a team. He enjoys the physical training and learning how to push his body to do things he never imagined it could do. He has made friends he might otherwise not have gotten to know and cheers them on with enthusiasm during meets. I share this example with you all to illustrate that giving students opportunities that weren't necessarily looking for open doors they never dreamed of stepping through. Participating athletics has helped my son develop into a more well-rounded student and no doubt will make his application even more competitive
088to selective universities. I am extremely thankful he has had these opportunities and I am thankful for the coaches who give their time to these young people. I asked the board members to consider the following as you weigh the pros and cons of separating athletics. Details of logistics, resources, and other arguments aside, it to me it boils down to this central question. Do we value postseason championship opportunities more than we value athletics for the unique lessons and community building students gain from showing up, training, and competing? Even without athletics, many students in this county will still choose to go to the early college. My son would have attended even athletics being available. However, he is a much more well-rounded young adult for the experience and for that I am grateful, thankful. I hope the school board
089members decide to preserve the current collaboration between our high schools so that students will continue to have to have the opportunities that he has had. Thank you, Jessica A. The rest of them have been given to you in your um packet. And now we will go through the speaker signup list. Um you have a timer that's in front of you up on the podium. I will press the button when you start. It will give you a 30 second warning before your time is up and then the buzzer will go off. And like I told you before, if you have additional comments you'd like to share with the board, you're welcome to give those to us in writing. Our first speaker is Mike Park, and he would like to speak on athletics. [applause] I want to
090thank you guys for the opportunity to speak tonight. Um, I'm here this evening as a concerned taxpayer, a teacher, and a parent of high school children in Jackson County. As a taxpayer, it doesn't make sense to separate the student athletes of the early college from Smoky Mountain High School. Why should parents of early college students be burdened with paying for coaches and sports facilities that their own children will no longer have access to? Out of the 964 students in these two schools, 130 students come from the early college. Yet, despite representing 13% of the student population, the early college has zero coaches or PE instructors, and their entire sports facilities consists of one volleyball net, one basketball goal, and one tetherball pole. If our teams get separated, would 13% of the total athletic budget at
091Smoky Mountain be reallocated to the early college? Would Jackson County public schools pay the salaries of coaches for the early college, provide uniforms, additional buses, and bus drivers? Would early college students have equal access to sports facilities and compare comparable to those at Smoky Mountain? Now, as a teacher who has been teaching early college students for the past 12 years, I can tell you that there's a visible difference between the students in my classroom who participate in team sports and those who do not. The early college students who participate in team sports display more resilience, social engagement, and better time management skills. They have drive because they have purpose. They understand that there are limited hours in the day, and they do their best to make the most of them. If we take away their
092opportunity to play team sports like soccer and football while they're pursuing their academic goals at early college, will we be robbing them of the of these key milestones in their mental and social development and perhaps even their overall sense of purpose? As a parent of early college students, this proposed separation is extremely unfair. Uh both of my sons participate in the sports at Smoky Mountain High School. One of whom has had played soccer his whole childhood from U6 to middle school uh to the district team and then at the JV team at Smoky Mountain. Now, when deciding on which high school he would attend, my wife and I were told that he would still be able to pursue his passion for soccer if he attends the Early College. But since the early college doesn't have
093enough soccer players to start their own 1A team, this would mean that our son would have to decide between abandoning his academic goals at the early college or surrendering his lifelong dream of playing soccer. In closing, the proposed separation of athletes is not the win-win solution that we're being led to believe it is. Early college students will no longer be able to play such team sports as football or soccer. Some may even jeopardize pending scholarships. Also, Smoky Mountain teams will lose valuable athletes, and our rising eighth graders will be told that they cannot attend the early college if they want to pursue those team sports. Separating our teams will cause serious collateral damage, and that collateral damage has faces and names, hopes, and dreams. That collateral damage is our children. That is why I'm asking
094our board members to vote in favor of all the children in Jackson County and keeping our Mustangs together. Thank you. [applause] >> [applause] >> Our next speaker is Travis Painter and he would like to speak on early college and Smoky Mountain High School athletics. >> I appreciate the opportunity to speak tonight. I'm here to show my support in leaving the early college students in Smoky Mountain High School sports. First, I want to remind each of you that you were elected into these positions solely for the best interest of every child in Jackson County. So, why are we having this meeting? To force our children to choose between an education that allows them an opportunity to get an associates degree for free, in which case some may not get otherwise, or choose athlet athletics. I was
095told by one of you on the board that this was not true. He said that the students at Jackson County Early College would still be able to play sports in the early college if they had their own teams. How is a school that small supposed to have enough team members to provide a team for any sport? And even if they did, I have done a little research on nearby counties that have went this route. And as I encourage each of you to do, turns out that 30 to $40,000 is not enough to pay for the uniforms, coaches, and referees. That doesn't include fields, gyms, tracks, pools for practice and playing on or in. Nor does this include the cost of buses, bus drivers. Recently, the women's middle school district soccer team, which my daughter is
096on, had [clears throat] to practice at the fields at Jackson County recy because we, you just mentioned that we're not even going to have fields at the new middle school. So, we're going backwards, not forwards on the fields. Okay. And all this for what? Because some football coaches whispered in the same board member's ear that this was a good idea to take away the numbers of the early college students from the high school so that it would go from a 5A to a 4A school. Number one, note that this classification only affects football in the playoffs. But does it really matter when Smoky Mountain can't win against a 1A or 2A high school like Swain and several other high schools? As these children make choices to stay at the high school versus Jackson County Early
097College in order to play sports and increase in population in Jackson County, Smoky Mountain would still end up going back to 5A anyway in just a matter of time. So this is a moot point. Final thought, make your decision for the best interest of the students of Jackson County, including the early college students, and not the coaches of Smoky Mountain football. As a matter of fact, why not just fire the existing football coaches and hire some that can produce a winning team? >> And one more, Mr. Jameson, you voted for the early college students to participate in Smoky Mountain Sports in the 2022 and 2023 school year. Thank you for your time. enough enough. >> Our next speaker is Joseph Riddle. >> Our next speaker is Joseph. I believe it's Riddle. >> All right, Mr.
098Mr. Riddle would like to speak. Hold on just a second, please. >> All right, Mr. Speak. Mr. Joseph Riddle would like to speak about athletics. Um, first of all, I'd like to thank you guys for giving me the opportunity to speak to you. Um, I'm a student at Jackson County Early College. I'm a junior. Um, and all three years so far, I have competed in um I've competed in sports at Smoky Mountain. And through that, I have been presented multiple opportunities. I have qualified for state or I've qualified for state once. I've qualified for regionals three times. I've even gone to junior Olympics, something that I wouldn't have been able to do without the opportunities that were presented to me through Smoky Mountain Swim. um without um without spooking athletics um I don't know that
099we would be able to have a swim team or to be able to present the same opportunities that we have now and um it's made such a difference to me to uh be able to compete um in all the relationships and friendships that I've made um through Smoking on athletics. Um, thank you for your time. [applause] Our next speaker is Maggie Ashley. She'd like to speak about athletics. Lower this a little bit. All right, here we go. Good evening. Uh, there are two ways to have the tallest building. The first way is to tear down all the other buildings to make yours appear taller. To those putting forth this proposal, this is what you're doing. By focusing on ensuring our students face easier competition rather than advocating for investature in youth athletics within our community,
100you're not building anything. And by removing opportunities from JC students to allow a chosen few teams to be successful come playoffs, you're just tearing down buildings. Except that these buildings aren't buildings, they're children. That adults would sacrifice youth athletes on the altar of playoff dreams misses the point of sportsmanship. But again, there are two ways to have the tallest building. And the second is to build your building as the tallest. I call on those pushing this proposal to think about the lessons we coaches teach our athletes. We don't shy away from challenges. And when things look hard, we don't game the system to engineer success. We dig deeper, work harder, pull our resources, and believe in our abilities. That anyone would tell a Mustang athlete that their only chance at a better playoff outcome is
101to play down is wrong. I'm proud to serve as the president of the Jackson County Swim Team. For decades, we have worked to build a foundational program in which kids from age five can compete and improve in swimming. It's hard work that we're proud to do because we believe that youth sports is a tall building worth building from the ground up. We compete and succeed against teams twice our size because we believe that steel sharpens steel and athletes compete best when challenged, not when they only enter competitions we coaches think they can win. I've heard chatter recently regarding swimming. And as someone with almost 20 years of experience in the sport, I'll tell you that moving JCEC swimmers to a 1A division will not benefit them. College coaches don't attend 1A swim meets in rural
102North Carolina, and they don't care how high a swimmer places in an event, period. College coaches look at times. And as my hundreds of swimmers have shown me, swimmers swim best when they face tough competition. If we want to open doors for our kids success in sports post high school, we can't lower the bar. We must keep the bar high and support our athletes as they strive to clear it. If you want to transform our teams into playoff powerhouses, I'm with you. But you can't do this by gaming the system. You must create a culture of success, building foundational pre high school programs so that future and current Mustangs and Jaguars are strong contenders no matter who they face. If you're serious about taking our athletes to the next level, and I hope you are,
103I implore you, don't tear down children in your pursuit. We can build the tallest building in our region and we can do so without tearing down children in the process. Thank you for your time. [applause] Next speaker is Teresa Cruz Paul. She like to speak on athletics. >> Good evening, chair, board members, and superintendent. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. I'm here as a parent to ask the board to reconsider the proposal to remove Jackson County Early College students access to athletics through Smoky Mountain High School. I want to start with something this district has already acknowledged. In December 2024, Dr. Ayers publicly identified Jackson County Early College student participation in Smoky Mountain High School athletics as a positive outcome for her le leadership. At that time, the arrangement was seen as beneficial
104not just for early college students, but for Smoky Mountain High School and the district as a whole. That's an important point because Smoky Mountain High School currently benefits from Jackson County Early College participation. Approximately 40% of Jackson County Early College students take part in athletics. uh and those students contribute directly and maintain viable outcomes and rosters, especially at the JV level uh where participation numbers often determine whether teams can exist at all. Removing these students doesn't strengthen Smoky Mountain programs, it risks shrinking them. We've seen the dynamics play out before. This board approved the creation of a district level middle school athletics teams while continuing school-based teams at K8 schools. Since implementation, these schools have seen reduced participation and difficulty in finding teams. Um, these experiences demonstrate the splitting students across structures can reduce engagement
105rather than building stronger pipelines for the high school level. Historically, the district's goal has been continuity, building participation from youth through middle school and Smoky Mountain High School. The current proposal moves in opposition of this direction and removing a group of actively participating students from that pipeline. This is also a question of access for all Jackson County students. Jackson County Early College students are district students. They attend public high school operated by Jackson County. They earn high school credit and are held to the same eligibility standards as their peers. When the district chooses to offer athletics to at Smoky Mountain High School, denying access based on a school model rather than eligibility creates an uneven system of opportunity. I also want to address the point that there's been shared publicly the idea that students can
106still play but just not at Smoky Mountain. For Jackson County Early College, that distinction matters. Unlike Blige Early College, Jackson County Early College does not have its own athletic program. Saying students can play somewhere else effectively means they lose access altogether despite already contributing to Smoky Mountain teams today. It's also worth noting that removing Jackson County early college students would not change Smoky Mountain High School's 4A 5A conference split uh during regular season play. What it would change is it participation and reduced participation rarely leads to stronger programs. Smoky Mountain High School benefits when more eligible students are able to participate, when teams remain viable, and when the district sends a constant message that academic pathways and academic opportunities can coexist. Thank you very much. Our [applause] ne next speaker is Een A. [applause] I'd
107like to start by [clears throat] thanking all of you guys for being here and listening to the concerns that we have today. Um I'm a student athlete from Jackson County Early College participates in sports, specifically cross country and track with Smoky Mountain High School. Um, I'm the young man from the story that my mom told who does triple jump and track. Um, I want to start by talking about how many students from JC rely on being able to do sports specifically with Smokeoky. I have a great friend who I'm not going to name tonight who is on the football team at Smoky Mountain and he gets lots of he gets college offers for his football play. Even if we were to start our own sports program at JC, that would not be something that he
108would be able to continue to do. if this were to happen earlier, he would have to transfer over to Smokeoky in order to continue that. And I think that is a very unfair trade-off for someone to have to make. Um, Smokeoky also relies, a lot of its teams, on the participation of JCC students, specifically the cross country and track team. Out of our regional cross country running team, four out of the seven regional qualifiers for the boys teams were from Jackson County early college along with some of the runners up for that list. We had a substitute runners for our track team. Um, our current best thrower is a JC student. Our current best distance runner is a JC student. He also competes one of our relay races, which would not qualify for regionals without
109him. So, Smoky Mountain would also be losing quite a bit towards its teams. I know there's also a lot of participation on the soccer team, which has struggled to find um as many members this year as it has in past years. Um, I also want to move over to um my participation beyond athletics at Smoky Mountain. I'm also in the marching band and the pet band at Smoky Mountain. And I think it is counterintuitive to invite someone like me to come participate as a Mustang at Smoky Mountain, but only sometimes. Only in the band and athletics to come to um athletic events and represent as a Mustang, but only sometimes. I can't do it the whole way if this were to be a thing. I think that's counterintuitive. Um it's also counterintuitive. There's a current
110US state senate bill titled bill 48 which um has the intention of making sure that all students regardless if they are homeschooled, privately schooled or public school to give them access to sporting um at a local school that has that sport if they do not have access to that sport at their school. So, if this action were to take place where JC students would not be able to compete with um Smoky Mountain students on their teams, that would essentially be undone very quickly if Bill 48, which is currently at committee gets turned into a state law. You would have to reverse a lot of those actions and we would have to participate with the teams of Smoky Mountain anyways. So, it would be backwards, not forwards um development. And my final point is that I
111think this is a very poor example to set for students. It's made very clear in smoking athletics that it is not just trying to raise good athletes, but trying to raise good people through life lessons. And I think that by doing this, you are giving a life lesson, not of when you are handed something harder in life to make the best of it and work harder to achieve that, but instead try to play the system to make it easier on yourself. And I think that's a very bad lesson to teach your students. Thank you. [applause] Our next speaker is Weston Good. Speak about JCC athletics. >> Hello, my name is Weston John Good. Um, I am also the guy from my mother's story. Um, very very passionate. Um, anyway, I've been at the Early College
112for these past three academic years. I'm a junior. Um, but before I ever stepped foot into a classroom at the Early College, I was at Smoky Mountain High School running Cross country has changed my heart. It has changed my mind. doing cross country with some of the exceptional people over at uh Smoky Mountain High School, both both the faculty in the way of coaches um and in the students, the student body there. I I have acrewed tremendous pride in getting to have that title of Mustang that I get to earn through very very hard work that is painful. I [laughter] as is cross country. Um swim swim also a little bit. Um anyway, but but getting to do that is something that you that you cannot replace. It is it is in fact a pillar
113of education. I think that you do athletics along with academics. When I first applied to the early college, I I actually didn't apply to just one early college. I applied to two for some reason. Anyway, um I I applied to uh Haywood Early College and Jackson Early College. Well, Jackson County Early College. Um and when when I got that letter, it it meant a lot. But opening it up and seeing that it said in the first couple lines, rigorous academics. I am here to chase the things that are hard, the things that are difficult, as are so many of my fellow friends here at the early college. We are an asset, not a liability. We have the capacity to bring many of our teams to state, not just in cross country, but also in swim
114and in track. And we have done it in some of these. We need more time to do it again. That's all. Thank you guys. [applause] Our next speaker is Olivia Fagan. She'd like to speak about JCC athletics. [applause] >> Good evening everyone. As a freshman at Jackson County Early College, I've already seen how much short sports shape our school and our students. My name is Olivia and I'm here tonight to explain why removing JC from Smoky Mountain Sports would have a major impact on students at my school and on those thinking about attending. My sports swimming wouldn't be as affected as much as others, but I'm here because many students wouldn't have the same chance to participate. Sports actually play a large role at JC. They bring personality and interest and create a more well-rounded
115student body. Academics alone cannot create a successful class and sport opportunities have added so much value to the school. For many of us, sports are the one place where we can step outside academics and connect with students across the county. Removing the option of sports would take away a part of what makes our school feel balanced and human. JCC is small, it's close-knit, and it works incredibly well for students who feel supported in a setting where everyone knows each other. Some students need that to thrive academically, emotionally, and socially. That kind of environment is rare and it's one of the reasons kids choose JC in the first place. They shouldn't have to decide between the school setting that supports them and the sports that help them grow. For example, my little sister is only in
116fifth grade yet is already looking forward to attending the early college. She loves soccer and excels on the field in a true team environment. If the proposed change passes, she would have to choose between the school environment that will help her thrive and the sport that keeps her active and grounded. No child should have to make this decision. Not only do some kids depend on their teams, but many teams depend on JC students. In women's soccer, for example, early college students make nearly a quarter of the roster. If JC had to form its own teams, many of those programs would disappear disappear entirely for the early college, taking away chances that matter to so many students. And losing these opportunities would change the path of kids who haven't even reached high school yet. We should
117be expanding opportunities for students, not taking them away. We should support the environments where students learn best, not force them to choose between academic and athletics. And we should be proud that our county offers something many others don't. A system where students from different schools come together to represent one community. Keep these opportunities alive for my schoolmates and kids like my sister who deserve the chance to grow in every way, not just academically. Thank you for your time and for considering what this means for students now and in the future. [applause] Our next speaker is Miranda Jameson. She'd like to speak about athletics. >> Good evening. I'm here tonight in support of separating athletics for Smoky Mountain High School in Jackson County Early College. There has been concern that this change forces students to choose
118between academics and athletics. I respectfully disagree. Students at Smoky Mountain High School already have access to strong academic opportunities, including the ability to earn an associates degree through SEC while remaining at the high school. That opportunity does not go away with this decision. My son is a sophomore at Smoky Mountain. By the time he graduates, he will have earned both his associates degree through SEC and complete the AP Capstone program at Smoky Mountain High School. But considering the opportunity to attend North Carolina School of Science and Math, he chose to stay at Smoky Mountain so he could continue playing football while while pursuing his academic goals. Since the School of Science and Math does not have a football team, that was his decision. It was not unfair. It was a reflection of having meaningful opportunities
119and options and the ability to choose what path fits him both best. Separating these programs does not take away academic opportunity. The early college will continue to provide a strong academic pathway and will own athletic teams. Smoky Mountain students will still be able to earn an associates degree, take rigorous courses, and fully participate in athletics. What this decision does is allow both groups of students to thrive in the environments designed to support their goals while also giving our high school the ability to compete on a more level playing field in athletics. Athletic classifications like 4A 5A are intended to create competitive equality, not to be used as a way to rise to the next level of classification. We should trust our students to make decisions about their futures. That is a part of preparing them
120for life beyond high school. Doing nothing makes may feel easier, but making the right decision, one that creates fairness, clarity, and opportunity for all students, is what truly serves the community. Lastly, we keep hearing that together is better. If that is truly the goal, then we need to include all Jackson County students in that vision, including Blue Ridge and the Community School. And if we're serious about unity, then let's go all in. Let's bring everyone under our name. Smoky Mountain Early College, Smoky Mountain High School, Blue Ridge District, and Smoky Mountain Community School all as Mustangs. That would be true unity. One community, one identity, one group. But if that's not the direction we're willing to take, then students should participate in sports, proms, clubs, and extracurricular activities at the school they chose to attend.
121We can't keep saying together is better while keeping students separated. Thank you for your time and consideration. [applause] >> Our next speaker is Kelly Doppkkey who would like to speak about athletics. [applause] Good evening, Dr. ARS and board members. Thank you for continuing to show community input is valued and heard as a parent and a public school champion. That means a great deal to us. To quote the local newspaper, "Should JC split from Smoky Mountain High School Sports?" Absolutely not. In fact, I believe we should include more, such as those from Jackson Community School, rather than dividing what we already have. At its core, this decision comes down to one simple idea. We are stronger together. When we add students, we strengthen programs. More athletes mean deeper benches, better practices, and more competitive teams. It
122also means more families supporting those teams through attendance, fundraising, and community involvement. Our goal should be to build the strongest programs possible. When we divide, we weaken programs. We've already seen this at the middle school level. Creating a district team while keeping school teams was a well-intentioned effort, but now many schools can't build full teams. Fewer students leads to fewer opportunities. Less is less. I'm also concerned about the impact on women's sports. Smaller rosters and fewer participants could disproportionately affect female athletes at both schools, limiting opportunities where we should be expanding them. There are also practical concerns. Do we have the facilities to support these programs? We're already sharing fields and courts and other spaces. With the uncertainty around future facilities, adding more teams could stretch our resources even further. Current coaching and transportation positions
123are already difficult to fill. Creating additional teams means additional staffing needs and fulfilling positions just to fill them does not build strong programs. Just like the classroom for academics, a strong coach makes for a strong team. We've got to hire the best. Beyond logistics, we have to consider the broader impact on student health. Did you know that this generation of students are set to be the first ones not to outlive their parents? If we split programs and reduce opportunities, some students, especially those choosing early college, may simply stop playing sports altogether. That's a loss we cannot afford. We also need to look to be the strongest public school option. More and more charters are out there, more and more virtual charters. We have to create more opportunities so that we are the choice. Jackson County
124Schools should be the choice for education in our community. Finally, this is about identity and community. We are Mustang Nation. Our students already support one another at games, performances, and events. The sense of unity matters. This message is simple. More is more. Less is less. And we are stronger together. [applause] Next, we have Amy Fagan, who would like to speak about athletics. Thank you for giving us more time so we can all speak. It's really meaningful to everyone. I'm a JCC parent, a former dual sport athlete in high school and a former NCAA athlete. So, I know a bit about the importance of sports. For many of our students, sports is central to their identity. And this proposal, for some would mean that they would have to completely drop out of a sport that they've
125been playing for most of their childhood. When I look at the district's mission statement, this proposal directly conflicts all of the measures of how the district says that they will value every child. respectful and nurturing relationships. Shared teams builds relationships across local schools through district sports. We do that in middle school. We don't have a Smoky Mountain Middle School, but that's the name we give our district sports. This proposal would remove one of the few structures that truly unite students in this county. Safe and inclusive environments. Excluding JCEC students from shared district sports is not inclusion. It is division high expectations. This proposal looks like an attempt to game the system. Instead of supporting athletes to meet high expectations, we don't believe they can. Continuous growth and improvement. Growth comes from challenge. This proposal may
126change appearances, but it won't actually develop more skilled athletes. Partnerships with families and communities. Approving this would damage trust with early college families who rely on shared teams so that their children can participate at all in some of these sports while also nurturing their intellectual needs. Let me share one example. It's not my kid, [snorts] but there is a 14-year-old early college freshman on the women's varsity soccer team and she plays full games. 14 She earned that spot. But here's the impact that if you follow through with this, here's the impact that's going to have. I invite you to imagine standing up and saying to her, "I don't want you to have another opportunity to play your sport in this county ever again. Not because of anything you did wrong, but because you didn't choose
127the right school and your participation is inconvenient now. and I'm willing to sacrifice your opportunity for the appearance of stronger teams elsewhere. That statement is provocative and intentionally uncomfortable because no one here truly believes that or wants to say that to a 14-year-old girl. But that's the real impact if this proposal passes. That is the message that the board will send that a child is inconvenient and it stands in direct opposition to who we say we are as a district and as a community. Thank you for the time. [applause] Next we have David Brown who would like to speak about Gideon Bibles. >> Good evening. Thank you for allowing me to speak. My name is David Brown. I'm with Gideonss International. the Jackson County camp. [clears throat] Uh, some of you may not be familiar
128with the Gideonss. We started back in 1899 in a little hotel room, Wisconsin. Two guys met up to share a room because there was only one vacancy. They talked that night and thought it'd be nice if when we came to a hotel there was a Bible in each room. Far crazy ideal. Have any of you ever went into a hotel room, open the door, and there was a Bible in there? But Gideon placed it there. [clears throat] They started two men grew quickly. By World War II, beginning of World War II, service soldiers were going overseas knowing they weren't going to make it back. and they started issuing them testaments as they left each soldier. After World War II, they came back. That worked out good. They thought it would be nice if they put
129testaments in every fifth grader's hand in every school in the nation. So, they started. I can remember when I was in the fifth grade, a kid who came to school, give me a little red testament. For some reason over the period of time, Jackson County has lost that. the surrounding counties, our surrounding camps go in every year, one day out of the year, and hand out these testaments to every fifth grader. It's not for them. They simply set up a table in the hallway. They stack these testaments on the table. But as the student passes by, if they want one, they can pick it up, take it. No pressure. If they want it, there it is. We say nothing to them. One day a year. That's what we ask for at this point in time.
130It's been so many years as a Jackson County would like to supply from 5 through 12, whoever wants one of these testaments. I have a lot of people in this county that are behind me that are officials. I hope that you're going to consider this. Thank you. [applause] Next, we have Sandy Brown or I'm sorry, Sandy Wade, who would like to speak about athletics. I want to thank the board for taking the time to listen tonight. [clears throat] I simply want to focus tonight on what this means for the students. The plan to remove JCEC students from sports at Smoky Mountain may be intended to help with classification. But what this actually does is limit access to sports for a specific group of students in our district. The Early College is a small school. While
131it can technically have its own teams, in many sports there just aren't enough students to form them. That's why participation with Smoky Mountain has mattered. It lets these students actually take part in sports. If this change moves forward for many of those students, there won't be a realistic option. So, this isn't just a shift, it's a loss of opportunity that raises an equity issue. These are public school students in the same district, but their access to sports would depend on which academic path they chose. Students who choose a more rigorous early path, early college path shouldn't lose access to opportunities available to others. There's a broader impact on the students futures, too. Sports is one of the main ways students build a well-rounded profile for college. It shows commitment, time management, and involvement outside the
132classroom. removing sports takes away part of how they show that. I do want to address competitiveness because I understand that's part of the reasoning. This change is meant to move Smoky Mountain into a smaller classification, but strong competition plays an important role in development. Competing against larger or more established programs can push athletes to improve and grow. There are practical concerns that affect entire programs as well. In team sports like football, baseball, and volleyball, you need a minimum of players. When participation drops, you don't just lose skill. You risk not being able to field a team at all or it places strain on the athletes who are there. One more point that matters for students. Combining these programs has helped students build at both schools build real relationships. They're getting to know each other, working
133together, and seeing each other in a positive way. That's what should happen in a unified district. If we separate them, we risk undoing this process. We risk going back to a divide where students don't know each other and don't feel connected. It creates an us against them mentality. I understand the goal of reclassification, but we should be careful about how we get there because at the end of the day, this raises a simple question. Should choosing a strong academic path come at the cost of being an athlete? And why should these students have to make that choice? We should be expanding opportunities for students, not taking them away. Thank you for listening. [applause] Next, we have Ben Friddle, who'd like to speak about athletics. Hello everybody. My name is Ben Friddle, a board. Thank you
134so much for hearing us tonight. Um um I have a student athlete at Jackson County Early College and three kids in Jackson County schools. We really appreciate you guys. I'm here tonight to talk about two beautiful u powerful creatures. One is a mustang. If you've seen a mustang run across a field, you've seen something truly amazing in God's creation. The other is a jaguar. If you've ever seen a jaguar leap and pounce, you know, you've seen a force of nature. In nature, these two creatures are enemies. But here in Jackson County, something special happens. Mustangs and jaguars step onto a field, decide that they want to win together. I love that. Jaguars and Mustangs dive into a pool together and they push each other all the way to the state meet. Uh Mustangs and Jaguars
135run together in track and cross country. They play soccer and football together. By my count, at least 40 Jaguar student athletes in nine different sports. At least 40 Jaguar student athletes in nine different sports step onto the field and the court, the track, and they jump into that new pool. and they push each other to the wind. Um, hold on. Next page. There I am. But there is another animal in the room. It's a big elephant. This big elephant says something that I don't really agree with. It says that somehow Jackson County Early College students are not really contributing to athletics. This elephant in the room says that somehow um that the 129 students at the Jackson County Early College are being unfairly counted towards sports and forcing Smoky Mountain into a higher bracket. What
136coach really wants less student athletes? What coach really says, "Oh, those 40 athletes over there, no thanks." Who says that? The other elephant in the room is that Jackson County Early College has five and a half pos positions and they're doing amazing job with those positions. But with those positions, they cannot recreate the sports that we're going to be losing. We cannot in any meaningful way create access to the courts and the fields and the tracks and the pools for these students when we lose it. And I think that our school system learned a long time ago that separate but equal is inherently never equal. So in conclusion, if we want more competitive sports, competitive sports in our school, we need more students, not less. Jaguars and Mustangs are better together. Thank you. Our [applause]
137next speaker is Gloria Painter about athletics. [applause] Since JCEC opened, we have had a back and forth with sports. So, I have to ask, why do we continue to change direction? Why are we jerking these students back and forth? It's important for our community to consider the full scope of what such a decision would mean. Let's be candid about the central issue that has not been fully addressed, which is cost. If JCEC were required to establish its own independent athletic program, the financial burden would be significant on an already limited budget, the school would need to fund uniforms, coach stipens, transportation, equipment, and facilities. Additionally, an athletic director or coordinator would be necessary to manage scheduling, compliance, and operation. Positions that currently do not exist at the early college, which does not employ health or
138coaching staff. In surrounding districts, early college athletic programs can cost over $30,000 annually. Is this the level of funding currently built into the Jackson County public schools budget? And if not, where will those funds come from? Facil and logistics present another major challenge. Where would JCE teams practice? Even now, space is limited. Middle school soccer programs already compete for practice areas with teams such as girls soccer traveling off-campus to local recreation facilities. Adding additional teams would further strain already limited resources. Transportation is also a pressing concern. Activity buses are in high demand during sport season and practices are sometimes canled due to lack of available drivers or buses. Would JC be provided its own dedicated transportation? If not, how would consistent participation be ensured? There's also important legal considerations. Under Title 9, schools are required
139to provide equitable athletic opportunities and resources for male and female athletes. This includes equal access to coaching facilities, equipment, and travel. Can the district realistically provide these services at an equivalent level for newly formed JCEC athletic programs? Beyond logistics and legalities, we must also reflect on the broader purpose of school athletics. Participation along Smoky Mountain High School provides JCEC students with access to established programs, experienced coaching, and a sense of community that would be difficult to replicate independently. At the same time, it allows the district to operate effectively by maximizing shared resources. The current model is not without its challenges, but the proposed solution raises far more complicated questions and answers. Before making decisions of this magnitude, the community deserves a transparent discussion grounded in facts, financial responsibilities, and commitment to serving all students effectively.
140This is not simply about classification or postseason advantage. It's about sustainability, consistency, equity, and what is truly best interest for students across Jackson County schools. [applause] Next speaker, Julia Hogan about athletics. [applause] Good evening. I am Julia Hogan and I'm a freshman at JCEC and I play women's varsity soccer. I chose early college because I wanted a tougher academic challenge the same way I pushed myself in sports. Taking early college students out of athletics doesn't fix a competitive problem. It doesn't make things fair. What it really does is take away opportunities from students who care deeply about both their education and their sports. Our school is small. We do not have enough students to offer full athletic programs, especially team sports. If we are removed from a smoky athletics, many of us lose a chance
141to play at all. And for me, it's not just about losing a sport. It's losing something that helps me keep my life in a good place. When I am stressed or overwhelmed, soccer is a place where I can discharge and finally reflect. My teammates and coaches help me improve in the field and grow as a person. We struggle together and succeed as a group. When I put on a smoky jersey, I'm not thinking about which school I had my classes in. I'm thinking about the four months of preeason we pushed through, the summer workouts we showed up to, and the club soccer we played because we love this sport. Soccer isn't just a short season for us. It's something we can work at all year. It's where I feel strong, supported, and like myself. Losing
142that wouldn't just change my schedule. It would change my life. What's frustrating is that this decision doesn't actually fix anything, but it would take away something that matters immensely to everyone, both JC students and smoky teams. Soccer is a big part of my life. It keeps me steady. It keeps me motivated. And it's where I've built so many connections. Losing that wouldn't just change my afternoons. It would change my fundamentals as a young adult. We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking to keep access to the activities that shape who we are. The ones that keep us healthy, connected, and supported while we take on a challenging class load. We chose a different academic path. We should not be punished for it. Thank you. [applause] Our next speaker is Auggie Rut. [applause] >>
143All right. Hello. Uh, my name is Auggie Rut and I'm a freshman at the the Jackson County Early College. This year I have done uh cross country uh indoor track and outdoor track which I actually went to practice to today. Um, already in only my first year of athletics, I've met met many new people and made countless memories that will stick with me for the rest of my life. Sports helped me to make new friends and maintain relationships that otherwise I wouldn't be able to. I believe I'm speaking on the behalf of many of my peers and saying that athletics are not merely a part of the school system [snorts] to compete uh but also to socialize and enrich our lives. Speaking as one of those potentially affected by the outcome of this meeting, one
144of my favorite parts of my day um is going to practice and spending time with my friends and people I wouldn't otherwise get to see. Uh I would like to urge the board to uh consider the impact of this ruling uh that it could have on the actual members of the early college. Um, I'd like to thank I'd like to thank the board for taking the time to listen to my perspective. [applause] >> Next, we have Robin Profett on athletics. >> Hello. Uh, you guys heard my email earlier because I wasn't sure if I could be here tonight. Uh, I will not be as eloquent as everyone else who has come up because I did not write a speech. I do want to point out a couple things. Most everybody that is coming up here
145is talking about athletics versus education, but what no one has said is these students that are in this room who still have to go home and do their homework tonight and it's already past 8. So they are committed to this meeting. They are the future of our county. And when we try to make a decision for them to separate instead of include, we are potentially laying the groundwork for them then as adults to believe that separation instead of inclusion is the way to get things done. I personally think and hang my hopes on these kids because there is a lot going on these days and I think the youth of our county and our country are going to save us. Now, I'm going to step back to the academics part of it for just a
146second. People have said that JCEC students are choosing more rigorous path. I do not know if that's true because my daughter goes to JCEC. She has never taken a Smoky Mountain class. She chose JCEC because she has extreme social anxiety. She needed a small school with small classes. And I think that also has to be considered when you're thinking about splitting these two schools. She ran cross country track um indoor and outdoor for two years. She doesn't run anymore for health concerns, but While she did, the Smoky Mountain athletes welcomed her with open arms, encouraged her to work out with the fastest members of their team so that she could continue to grow and improve. And we haven't heard from any Smoky Mountain athletes tonight. And I really think that might be because the Smoky
147Mountain students who are also athletes don't share the same um ideals that the adults who are coming up here and saying we need to split these two schools. I really truly believe in the student athletes at Smoky Mountain. I've and I've engaged with a lot of them over the years. They are good, caring students. And I do not think that if it were up to them to vote, they would vote to separate the JC students and make them compete or not compete at all based on numbers because they might win a title. Thank you. [applause] Next we have Liam Shy on athletics. [applause] >> Um, hey, I'm Liam. Thanks for being here. >> [snorts] >> Um, I feel like we all could use some jumping jacks, but um, I was a member of the Jackson
148County swim team in my childhood before becoming a Mustang on the Smoky Mountain High School swim team for the past three years. As a JC student and a Mustang swimmer, I've also attended volleyball games, track and cross country meets, soccer matches, as well as every football and basketball game in the past two years and enjoy cheering for Mustangs the whole time. After hearing about this proposed change recently and reading the reasons why in the Herald article, in my opinion, the biggest date biggest thing to consider in this entire debate is beyond how each school would fair far far solely based on performance. This potential transition is about something much deeper. We play sports to better our mental and physical health, to develop leadership skills and confidence to carry into our adult lives, as well as
149to forge lifelong friendships. And the wins are always a nice bonus. It's beyond me to think that anyone could care more about how Spokei may place in the postseason over knowing that all the kids in Jackson County have the option to choose a rigorous academic path and to play the for they love and to be all united as Mustangs. Finally, all that I've shared this evening was from my own personal experience, but I've also considered this from the perspective of my younger brother um [snorts] in a year from now he will have to decide between Smokey or JCC. And it's just ridiculous to me that anyone would have to make this decision based on athletics when we're already able to provide both. Um, I hope the board and everyone involved in this decision will realize
150how many different types of children will be affected by this decision. And in a life full of choices, I think this is a pretty easy one. Thank you for your time and consideration. >> [applause] [applause] >> Next we have Sarah Steven on athletics. >> Hi board. I didn't prepare a speech either, but I would just like to say that my daughter is a freshman at JCC and she plays varsity soccer and she just feels like a part of the team and she I know the academics might be similar. you can get a lot done at the high school as well as the early college, but I just really feel like the smaller school atmosphere for her is really super like it feels like a family there for her. And so I just feel like it
151would be such a shame to see like she's just going into this and she's having such a great time this year with the athletics. And if this change did happen, where would she be, you know? And I know she could go to the high school, but it would be a big change. And she's just one student, but I just wanted to add my voice to all the other parents who are here and all the other kids who are speaking much more eloquently than me. So, thank you. [applause] Next, we have James Hogan about athletics. >> [applause] >> Hi, good evening. My name is James Hogan. I have uh three children in Jackson County Public Schools. Julia, who spoke earlier to you in the blue blazer, you know you're in trouble when your 15-year-old daughter says,
152"Dad, I need a blazer. I'm going to the board of education meeting." So, I listened and we got her a blazer and we came early. And I have a seventh grader named Thomas who's at Fairview and a fourth grader named Annie who's also at Fairview. Um, first of all, I wanted to say thank you. I I want to make sure that you hear that a lot. I want to make sure that tonight you understand that I get that being an elected official is difficult, especially in a small town because you have to see the people who vote for you. you have to see the people who agree with you and disagree with you and that is tough. Um, you're braver than I am to run for public office and to stand up there or to
153sit up there and go through all of this. And I appreciate the fact that you're listening to us now and that you extended this this period late into the night to listen to all these. So, thank you. I also want to offer this. When Julia goes out there on the soccer field to play and she's wearing the the blue jersey that says Mustangs on it and she huddles up with her teammates and she puts her hands in the center of the circle and says Mustangs on three. Everyone in the stand is cheering for the Mustangs and I'm there cheering for the Mustangs. And I want to just simply note that as the parent of a Jackson County Early College student, I support Smoky Mountain High School. I want to make sure that our coaches hear
154it and our athletics director at Smoky Mountain hears it. My goal is for Smoky Mountain to win a state championship in any and every sport that it wants to compete in. And I pledge to you all tonight and as a parent, I want to help with that. I pay my $8 at the gate to see the soccer soccer team. I pay to see the football team because kids are in marching band. I work in the concession stand. I give money. I give time. And I'll give more. But I want to be part of it. And I want my kids to be part of it. And I want to ask right now all these people behind me, do you guys want to be part of it, too? [applause] In the last 25 seconds before the light
155turns red, I just want to say that I think that you can do this if you have 130 families pulling for you and supporting you, giving your money, showing up and volunteering, coming out to a board meeting because I do think that they care and I do think that they share the same goal and I want to see us do it together. Thank you. [applause] >> [applause] >> Next we have Skyler Freddy on athletics. I'm a freshman at Smoky Mountain High School and I believe that JC should have access to Smoky Mountain sports. The most significant concern is the exclusion of JC students. The school based athletics are the most provided for all students. Denying JC the chance to play undermines the mission of school of the school district. Chasing an easier win loss record
156by dropping down a level often backfires. Playing in a harder conference prepares athletes for higher levels of competition such as college recruiting. This also allows these students ability to adapt and grow when things get hard. Creating two separate programs is often cost effective. You need two of everything. Two sets of uniforms, two coaching staff, and separate insurance policies and potentially separate facilities. Travel costs often increase when moving to different conferences, especially new opportun new opponents and geologically further away. Splitting the talent pool can sorry can weaken both programs rather than strengthening them. Even if JC is smaller, those students contribute to the depth of the athletics. Without them, Smoky Mountain will struggle with the lack of competition during practices and the people to play. Our teams are stronger together than separated. I ask one question
157for you to think about. If the mission of our school district is to provide every student with a well-rounded education and equal opportunity, how does excluding JC students based on their academic path aligned with those values? Thank you very much. [applause] And our last speaker is Lee Nichols about JC. [applause] Good evening. I'm Lee Nichols. I have one daughter at Smoky Mountain High and one son at JCEC. And I want to say thank you for your service to the community and for hearing us. Uh others have expressed my concerns about whether we're meeting the mission of athletics well if we made a decision to split and do we have the resources. I'd like to address another topic which is what I would call ready fire aim. Do we have a plan? So if we're going
158to pursue this decision I would plead with the board to have a good solid plan so that we can look at that. Does that look sustainable? Does that look solid? Does that look like Yeah, we are going a good direction. Can the community come behind that or maybe not? Uh, case in point, we have a middle school, I understand tonight, that is not going to have an athletic field funded. Ready, fire, aim. Now, I get construction's very volatile. It's a thing. Have we planned well? Can we make a really good solid plan for how this would work? You want to make a you want to make the split? What are the teams going to be? Who is going to coach them and not double up with another school and be burned out? Are we going
159to have teams that we don't say, "Well, you may have it one year, but you may not have it another year." That's not sustainable. That's not a good solid plan. Let's have a good solid plan before you make that decision so that we can at it as a community. Thank you for your time. [applause] >> That's all. >> Want to thank everybody for signing up and coming out to speak. Um and now we're going to move on to our action agenda. >> Question. >> Go ahead. >> June. Is it possible to speed that up? These kids are very >> emotal. >> I mean, I think that's up to the board. I mean, I don't think tonight would be a good night to by any means, but >> I think we could probably vote as early
160as the next meeting. I mean that's >> I'll make a motion that we do action for >> we even have to vote on >> I don't think you need a motion for that we'll just at the board's pleasure we'll add it to the agenda for the next meeting >> an action item >> okay now we need Christie >> [clears throat] >> She's probably trying to get back in. I think she >> Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Just who is waiting on? >> You're up. >> Okay. So, I bring the first action item which is budget amendment number six. I'm requesting your approval for this amendment to be made for a budget resolution for the fiscal year ending June 30th, 2026. The following funds are included in this amendment. state funds, federal grant funds, other
161specific revenue funds. The remainder of the amendment details are in your packets, but I am happy to answer any questions that you have. >> Any questions? I have a motion. >> Make a motion that we approve the budget amendment number. >> Six. Sorry. >> I second that motion. >> All in favor? Up next we have Shenica with the website contract renewal. [cough] Um so we are currently in our final year with um in our contract with Final Site for the website. Um so of course with that being with our processes I went um I got three quotes for it. Um and I actually found a company that we currently use which parent square um for um that's significantly cheaper um but also there is so I actually put it there was one in your packet
162like digitally but um since giving that I actually got they gave me a new quote through um tips which is um I wrote that down because I couldn't remember what it was um it's just a purchase a purchasing cooperative um streamlining procurement by providing prevetted um competitive uh price contracts. So, it's actually cheaper than the one that I provided for you. Um so, I know we're all about saving money. Um but it is significantly cheaper. It's about half the price of what we're currently paying for the website. But my biggest concern with wanting to switch to a new company is there are um current ADA um accessibility laws um that we have to be in compliance with. and our current website um is it's not and to get it in compliance with it is like
163a full redesign and I know we went through a full redesign about five years ago and it was very costly um but the new company is um is outright and I know that I'm not speaking very eloquently as everybody said but um but the the templates that they have for the website are automatically up to that standard already. >> And um they also have a built-in accessibility checker which allows for um when we post something to the website, it will not let us post it unless it is accessible. So that's whether it's uploading documents or text or um like headers and stuff like that. Um which is a complete it would cost another full redesign fee for our current website. Um, so I figured if we were going to go with another redesign that it
164would just make sense to go ahead and get one that was compliant um, from the get-go and that as those um, as those laws change um, I spoke with them and they will make their websites compliant without an additional cost to us as that changes. >> I think you said the magic word significantly cheaper. Well, and obviously this is one you feel you're the one that does a lot of this web >> interaction, so you feel comfortable with that? >> Yes. >> And we currently use Parent Square for our two-way communication. Yes. >> So, um, so if y'all do um technically once I got the new quote, it is underneath the threshold for board approval. Um, I did want to bring it to y'all because I know the website's a big part of the school
165district. So, I did want to out of respect for y'all, I didn't want to change anything that drastic without letting y'all know. Um, but um, sorry, I was going somewhere with that. Um, yeah, it's it's it's under it's under the threshold for approval, but it saves even with um with technology with us using it for two-way communication. If we if we was to go with this, which I obviously want to, um, we could end up bundling it with what Greg already pays through technology and lower that money evenly. >> Um, I want to say that we're about at like 60% compliant. Um, >> what is the other 40%. >> The other 40% is like uploaded PDFs that aren't compliant. Um, the full color schemes, like design of the They were compliant when they were designed,
166but now they're not compliant. Um, and I actually had um Final Site did a um like a check through all of ours and they gave me like line by line what was out of compliance and it would be completely redesigning the websites. >> Some were having to do all our public facing websites as well. >> Yes. And that >> Oh, yeah. >> And they did push back. The deadline for us was um April 24th, 2027, but they recently um I think like last week just extended it to 2028. And I just figure, I'm not saying that I don't want to do the work, but I feel like my work would be best shown if instead of changing the website that we currently have and spending a lot of money, I feel like it wouldn't be
167a good steward of money to spend that much money because for the price that we're getting for the onboarding fee and for a three-year contract is currently about two years worth of our current contract that we paid. >> One thing that um we talked about, our website down. So, while it's being built, the current one will remain and then there will be about a two week lapse where we'll be running both of them simultaneously before we let go. So, we're um under contract um until July >> July 14th >> is when our contract ends and they've assured us that it can be built in the next three months. >> Chenica did a good job finding some better resources. >> What would you like for our motion to I guess technically you don't have to. >>
168I mean un >> but we have it as action. So ask for approval of the parent square contract for the website. >> Yes. >> I make a motion. >> Yes. >> I make a motion that we approve the contract with parent square for the redesign of the website. >> I second that motion. >> All in favor. >> Thank you. Thank you. Next, Jake Buchanan with policy updates. >> Mr. Chair, Dr. members of the board, you have in your packet um these are from our spring packet of policy updates from your schoolboard association. These are um created and vetted by by your attorneys through them and then also through your attorneys at Campbell Shatley. They've been reviewed by the appropriate um program director and they're there for your recommendation. Um if you have any questions, Chad
169would be happy to answer them for you. Um I will yeah I will note question. I will note several of them particularly the last three are really just tech technical changes. Um, I will say though the one that probably um, if Ashley was here, she'd probably give you a little bit more background on number one and two um, because it was a result of um, some schoolboard actions. >> It look like it's kind of a more relaxed setting for meetings. >> That's interpretation. What I wanted to ask you was I read through that and I don't know what's changed. >> I wish we had had >> you do have the strike out version. >> I didn't. >> It was in our board docs. >> I read the board docs. First is the strike out. The
170second copy is the clean version. >> Then you won't get it. >> Well, I it to my computer. I guess this is my own stuff. It was over an hour. I was waiting for the documents to download and it I I've already talked to Greg about it. I must have some issue with this computer. But anyway, >> so >> I don't want you to take a lot of time, but I do not know what those are. >> Which one particularly? 2340. Are you talking about all the >> No, no, no. The agenda one. That was the one I was most wondering about what the changes were. 2330. So, >> so we are a board of five and of course there are boards that are much much larger than than us. There's boards in North Carolina
171there as many as nine members. Seven is not uncommon. Five. Five is probably one of the least common ones actually. Um but it's actually to facilitate like Wes had said and I jokingly said depend on your interpretation but it is to facilitate um the meetings particularly for a five member board. Um, so getting into the technicalities of it. It's requiring a second for motions and permitting the chair to make motions and vote on optional are optional. So the let me say that again. Requiring a second for motions and permitting the chair to make motions and vote are optional. However, if the board wants to require a second for motions or permit the chair to motions and vote those exceptions to Robert's rules of order um would stay into the policy. So as Wes said, it
172does make it could make it some if you decide to implement it for that particular board meeting, it could make it easier for you to amend your um agenda. I believe the nature of it was some to be honest was some deadlock boards um wanting to adjust their agendas as meetings started. Okay. Well, like for instance, I emailed him today and just said I had this piece of information I wanted to share with the board and the public, >> but that wasn't added to the agenda. And one of the things that I had read here, and I don't know if this had changed, was that it would take the vote of the board to add something to the agenda. Yes. I'm Yes. I'm sorry. >> Right. >> Nothing to decide. Okay. I think what this
173is getting at is requiring a time frame on the agenda for voting purposes. >> Okay? >> So that everyone will have an opportunity uh to review it and not be rushed to make a decision. >> Okay? >> Unless a decision needs to be made or there is some urgency and that's what then would require >> there's some exceptions. No, no good rule has good except no good exceptions to it, right? So there's exceptions to that, but the whole purpose is designed to protect the board from itself. Really? >> Okay. Thank you. >> That helps. I I appreciate that. Thank you. >> Any other questions? >> If not, I ask for your approval for these policy changes through N. that motion. >> All in favor? >> Thank you very much. >> At this time, pursu it
174to GS14318.11 for the following purposes under subsection A1 to prevent the disclosure of privilege or confidential personnel information pursuant to GS 115C-319-321 and A3 to discuss matters protected by the attorney client privilege. The board finds it necessary to go into close session. Do I have a motion to go into close session? >> I make a motion that we go into close session. >> All in favor? Are you on air? >> No, you are. >> There was no action taken during close session. Um I think Dr. S has personnel items to recommend. >> I do. Um so I'm going to have to split them up with some removal. So um I ask for action for employee recommendations 1 through 12 and 14 through 25 employee resignations 1 through 6 and 8 through 11. Um employee separation
175one and staff non-staff returning coach recommendations 1 through five. >> I make a motion that we approve the personnel action agenda as presented. I'll second that motion. >> All in favor. >> All right. Our next regularly scheduled business meeting for the board of education is May 26, 2026 at 6 p.m. The board of education administrative office on 398 Hospital Road in North Carolina. Do I have a motion to adjourn? >> I make a motion that we adjourn. I second. All >> in favor?