Murphy – Cherokee County Schools remains in the running for tens of millions of dollars in grant funding, and five town council members are throwing their support behind those efforts.
The council on Monday voted 5-1 in favor of a resolution supporting Cherokee County Schools’ ongoing quest for up to $50 million in grant funding for a consolidated high school.
Mayor Tim Radford noted that the town has no authority when it comes to the issue of consolidation in Cherokee County, and the town’s resolution is simply reflective of a desire to see education improve for students within Murphy schools and Cherokee County as a whole. Radford said he understands that high school consolidation is an emotional issue and that the town’s vote is “not a debate.”
Those emotions were on display Monday evening, when the town council listened to nearly an hour of public comment – the majority of which was focused on high school consolidation. Six of the seven individuals who spoke on the issue were in favor of a unified high school.
“As precious as our memories and our community loyalty may be, we’re losing something more valuable by not consolidating, and that is opportunity for our children,” attorney Holly Christy said.
Caesar Campana, a 22-year resident of Cherokee County, said he feels like he is “uniquely positioned” to argue for consolidation as an educator who has taught at Murphy, Andrews and Hayesville high schools, as well as served as an instructional coach for the entire county.
Campana, who was the 2019 Teacher of the Year for the western region of North Carolina, said Cherokee County has “been left behind” due to the way the state structures its teaching position allotment and finances. He pointed to a variety of issues, including restrooms at Murphy High in disrepair and teachers being forced to turn off loud air conditioners simply so they could hear what students were saying.
“I used to say, ‘I thought they could have shot The Shawshank Redemption (movie) in our school bathrooms there,’ and that’s universal,” Campana said. “It’s Hiwassee Dam, too. It’s Andrews, where I listened to a jackhammer all day because they’re digging up piping that was laid in the 1950s.
“Guys, it’s time.”
Campana also pointed to the departure of Murphy athletic director and girls basketball coach Ray Gutierrez, who resigned in late June in order to move his family to Kennesaw, Ga., to provide better education opportunities for his sons. Campana said he and his wife have had similar discussions about what to do when their children get to their high school age.
“If the Hippocratic oath for people in the medical profession is ‘Do no harm.’ In education, ours is ‘What is in the best interests of students?’ ” Campana said. “What’s in the best interests of students, and how can we provide the absolute best for them? The answer is right there in front of us.”
Cherokee County was shut out in its initial bid for funding earlier this year from about $398 million of state money. Cherokee County Schools Superintendent Jeana Conley said 28 school systems received money out of the 78 who applied for funding from that pool of money, including neighboring Clay County, which received $32 million for a new middle school.
According to the superintendent, at least $294 million more will be doled out to North Carolina school projects in the coming weeks.
During a July 25 meeting between local elected officials, Conley told state Sen. Kevin Corbin and state Rep. Karl Gillespie (both R-Franklin) that she learned more about Cherokee County’s status following the first round of grant funding.
“In the unfunded projects, we’re ranked No. 13,” Conley said. “But our circumstances have changed. Our millage rate has gone up, and we have a lot of other situations that would affect our ability to pay, (and that will) help us.”
Even applying for tens of millions of dollars in state funding has been a contentious topic when it comes to a consolidated high school. A slim majority of school board members voted 4-3 to do so earlier this year, followed by a narrow 3-2 approval by the board of commissioners. Frank Dickey was the lone town council member to vote against the school resolution.