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Safety concerns at Cherokee County Schools can range from mundane to startling and sometimes tragically ironic.
The Cherokee County Board of Education listened Thursday as principals and administrators presented a variety of campus-related issues including the need for more security cameras, a termite infestation inside Murphy High School and a sword-slinging “ninja” who showed up at an Andrews campus in the wee hours of the morning on one occasion. The specially called meeting was held to allow county principals to prioritize and request repairs and upgrades at their campuses.
Dr. Lisa Fletcher, principal at Murphy High, provided a blunt assessment of her school’s needs.
“If you haven’t been in there lately, honestly, and I’m not saying this as a joke, we really just need the school completely refurbished,” she said. “Termites have taken over two rooms, and they are basically the width of that hallway away from the cafeteria.
“You hate to say that out in public, but I think the public needs to know that we are infested with termites. ... It’s a big deal, and it’s not just three or four – it looks like a swarm, just like a hive of bees when they come out, and they just roll out of the ceiling when they come. It’s pretty bad.”
Fletcher said termites have been an ongoing issue for years, albeit one the school system has repeatedly tried to address. Assistant superintendent John Higdon said Terminix, the school’s pest control service, has provided a new proposal for a drilling project that would go beyond the school’s basic contract with the company and install termite bait stations around the building.
Extra security cameras served as one of the more common requests among administrators last Thursday. Those devices act as an important safety measure in the modern era in the eyes of Superintendent Jeana Conley.
“We have to protect our campuses, and we have to know who was there,” Conley said. “We had an interesting evening one night with the Andrews High School cameras where a ninja showed up at 2 a.m. ... He was swinging swords.”
Conley clarified that the man wielding the weapons was likely a homeless person. Although that example highlighted a threat from outside of schools, Ranger Elementary/Middle School Principal Kelley McDonald said her campus’ safety structures sometimes create unsafe conditions for students.
“Unfortunately, we had a terrible accident this year with a student getting hurt and hitting a metal sign about playground safety,” McDonald said. “You know, what was probably playground guidelines (15-plus years ago), we’ve become smarter and we need to do better. The structure that is a barrier around our playground, we’ve got spikes coming up out of this plastic structure and then we’ve got signs talking about safety. It’s not safe for the kids.”
Multiple administrators asked for covered walkways outside of facilities and new flooring within the buildings. School board members expressed a desire to also pursue ways to fund bigger projects, such as a track at Hiwassee Dam High School. The Eagles’ track team practices by running around the school building.
“I don’t see any greater athletic need in the county than for the west end of the county to have a track,” board member Jeff Tatham said. “It’s really sad that a track team has to practice by running around a building or borrowing a track from a different school, but that’s part of a larger discussion about our campuses and things.”
Conley said a track would likely cost about $350,000 and take up 4 acres.
The board will further review the principals’ requests during this Thursday’s regularly scheduled monthly meeting. Conley said the board routinely faces difficult choices trying to manage the upkeep associated with Cherokee County Schools’ aging campuses.
“We’re firefighters putting out fires every single month, every single day,” Conley said. “You guys are here approving all of those projects. Mr. Higdon stands up every month and asks for the money to put these things out, and our five maintenance men who cover all this square footage do an outstanding job.”