The Haywood County School Board approved several personnel recommendations last week that saw the return of a previous finance director and new principals for two schools.

History will whisper through the mountain mists that once upon a time, Pactiv Evergreen’s paper mill in Canton stood as a symbol of industry and economic prosperity for generations. But behind its towering façade, the specter of mismanagement and malfeasance eventually led to a botched closing announcement, a health care coverage crisis and more than a thousand workers helplessly watching their good-paying jobs evaporate like morning dew in the midday summer sun.

Students in Haywood County who want to be educators will have a new opportunity that could help pay for college after the school district was chosen for a new Teaching Fellows pilot program that emphasizes local recruitment. 

After the last school year, Haywood County Schools held onto its seventh-place ranking in the state, out of 115 school districts, in academic performance. The school system first attained this historic high-water mark during the 2021-22 school year, prior to which it was ranked 10th. 

Haywood County Schools recently received two grants from Dogwood Health Trust. One will benefit students at the Haywood Community Learning Center, and another will help fund mental health support services in elementary and middle grades. 

The Haywood County School Board moved quickly to approve a new principal for Waynesville Middle School after the sudden departure of previous Principal Jennifer Reeves. 

More than three months after a rezoning request revealed plans by Haywood County Schools to consolidate several facilities on a new piece of property in Waynesville, Superintendent Trevor Putnam was given access to the funding that will make acquisition of the parcel possible. 

The Haywood County School Board has approved the acquisition of a parcel of land off Ratcliff Cove Road for the construction of a facility that would consolidate several of its auxiliary services. 

As first reported in The Smoky Mountain News, Haywood County Schools has proposed a multi-million dollar consolidation of several auxiliary services on a 28-acre parcel off Ratcliff Cove Road. For that to happen, the parcel must first be rezoned.

As Haywood County Schools hammered out its 2023-24 budget, administrators faced declining student population and the imminent end of COVID-era relief funds, both of which will diminish the amount of money available for the public school system.