At the February board meeting, School Board members congratulated seven Teachers of the Year, recently selected by their peers. Pictured with Deputy Superintendent Teresa Russell (left) and Superintendent of Schools Marlon King (right) are (from left) Haywood High – Glynn Bridgewater; Haywood Elementary – Nan Naylor; Sami Jo Gore – Anderson; Wendy Piercey – Sunny Hill; Mary Jane Williams – Haywood Junior High School; and HHS Career and Technical Division – Garry Butler. East Side Teacher of the Year  Lynn Holt is not pictured. From these candidates, three were chosen as system-wide Teachers of the Year: Nan Naylor (PreK-4), Mary Jane Williams (Grades 5-8) and Glynn Bridgewater (Grades 9-12).

When the Haywood County School Board met on Tuesday night, February 14, among other business, it approved a resolution to surplus Sunny Hill property to the county. The board also honored a new member of the 30+ Club, recognized seven Teachers of the Year and the HHS Academic Decathlon teams, which will be competing in the state competition on February 24-25. They approved an application to the United Way for the Family Resource Centers and approved budget amendments.

The resolution to surplus about 35 acres of Sunny Hill Property to the county is part of a partnership agreement with the county and city to write grants for two tornado safe spaces, one at Haywood Junior High School and one at Haywood Elementary. The estimate for the project is about $1.5 million. The grants from TEMA and FEMA will pay for about 88.5 percent of it, and the sale of the property will help pay for the rest of the cost. The city and county can also provide “in-kind” payment. The transfer and sale of the property is all contingent on the schools, city and county receiving the grants.

They also honored the HHS Academic Decathlon Teams, which will be competing on the state level at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville on February 24-25. The teams finished fourth and fifth in the regional competition held at Haywood High in January. While HHS has had two teams before, it is the first time HHS has had two teams finish in the top five.

The board honored Daniel Evans for being the newest member of the 30+ Club. To become a member of this elite club at HHS, students have to score 30 or higher on the ACT test. Other members of the Club are HHS seniors Reeves Garrett, Taylor Primrose, Seth Tillman, Kaitlyn Schwarz and Madison Eubanks.

Peggy Jackson of the UT Extension Service asked the board for their approval to request funds from the United Way for the schools’ annual Book Jams that are held at Anderson, Haywood Elementary, East Side and Sunny Hill Schools. These funds will pay for the books that are given to each student at these schools during these programs. Board members approved her request.
The next board meeting will be on March 13.