When the Haywood County School Board met in regular session on June 12, board members approved several budget amendments, heard a presentation from the HHS Valedictorians, approved a contract package for Superintendent Dr. Marlon King, and approved the final funding for the HHS renovation project.
The first order of business was to recognize the HHS Valedictorians. The four Valedictorians each honored a “Teacher Who Made A Difference.” Reeves Garrett honored Glynn Bridgewater, Seth Tillman honored Eddie Keel, Taylor Primrose honored Linda Baxter and Madison Eubanks honored Rita Hathcock.
Next the school board discussed a contract for Dr. King, presented by Board Chairman Harold Garrett. Dr. King was hired 3-1/2 years ago at $90,000. Since then he has received several state raises and a raise for earning his doctorate degree. His salary at the time of the meeting was $100,209. 

The board approved a contract and salary offer for Superintendent of Schools Marlon King. The contract is for four years and includes a salary of $108,209, plus a performance bonus of $12,000 for the last three years when he would not accept a raise.  (Dr. King refused any additional compensation for his previous three successful evaluations until he could support increases in academics. This year’s test scores are supporting those increases.) The new contract also includes an agreement that each year of his four-year contract, if he receives a favorable evaluation, he will receive a $5,000 performance bonus. Board members approved the measure.

Also, in other news, the board approved an additional $600,000 to be taken from board of education fund balance to complete Phase 2B at Haywood High.
In addition, Board members approved a number of end-of-the-year budget amendments and several board policies on second reading. They also approved an out-of-town trip for a HHS student to attend the National FCCLA National Leadership Conference in Orlando, Fla., and they approved a continuation budget to operate under until passage of the 2012-12 county budget.

The next schedule board meeting is set for July 10.

Called Board Meeting on June 19

School board members met in a called session on June 19 to approve more budget amendments and handle several other items of business. The Haywood County school board must “reaffirm” Director of Schools Marlon King’s contract after the August election. The word came from the school board’s lawyer at a special meeting of the school board on June 19. King has been director of schools for over three years and has won accolades from the school board including the grant of bonuses tied to performance data. The school board voted last week to offer King a new contract that included a raise.
But school board members learned the law states that a school board can’t award a contract within 45 days of an election in which school board members are on the ballot. The August election, in which two school board seats will be decided, is within 45 days of the offer. One of the seats is contested and the other is not.

Note: At the June 28 Haywood County Commission meeting, commissioners approved the school’s proposals to build six classrooms/safe spaces at Haywood Junior High School and at East Side Elementary. They also approved the Board of Education’s financial report that included the request for approval to take the $600,000 cost to finish the HHS renovation project from the school’s fund balance.