The start of this school year has been a topic fraught with debate about student needs, logistical hurdles and funding shortfalls. But, the voices and opinions of teachers seem to have been left out of the conversation when communities and schools need them most. 

Public schools and colleges are being forced to develop plans, contingency plans and worst-case scenarios as they prepare for the influx of thousands of students over the next several weeks.

• Colleges, universities announce plans for fall 2020
• Teachers concerned for school safety
• Haywood chooses hybrid plan for school reopenings
• Macon schools offer virtual option
• Back to school plans for Swain County

By Dale Carpenter • Guest Columnist | North Carolina public schools will reopen while the COVID-19 Pandemic is still with us and it is impossible to predict what will happen as we try to cope with the complexity of it all. Parents, educators and students are learning to adjust day by day to changing conditions. 

To the Editor:

I am writing this to the Haywood County School Board and the citizens of Haywood County.

My name is Brandon Milan. I am a decade-long resident of Haywood County and the white father of two Black children, one of whom is already a student in the Haywood County School system. 

This week the debate has raged over whether — and how — to reopen schools next month. President Donald Trump has demanded that schools reopen, and yet some of the largest districts in the country, including Los Angeles and San Diego, have announced they will remain fully remote this fall, following a surge of cases and a reversal of reopening efforts in California. 

After weeks of speculation, Gov. Roy Cooper announced July 14 that North Carolina would again remain in Phase 2 of his three-phase reopening plan and that schools would reopen as scheduled on Aug. 17, albeit with important caveats.

After two years in the position, Jackson County Public Schools Superintendent Kim Elliott will retire as head of the school system. 

As schools shut down during the pandemic, students were sent home and instructed to tune in online. Chromebooks were loaned out, and teachers began the process of getting material for the rest of the school year online. But for many students, there was still the problem of reliable internet. 

By Andrew Dundas • Contributing writer | Paper, a folder and pencils — both colored and No. 2. These are just some of the supplies required in Kara Faust’s art classes at Canton Middle School each semester. Yet, her school is not able to provide funding for these resources.

A decision has finally been made on where to put Haywood County Schools’ central administration office before their lease at the Historic Haywood Hospital runs out at the end of this year, and as it turns out, they won’t have to go far.