As Macon County looks ahead to fiscal year 2023-24, the county has big decisions to make to address the many pressing capital needs in its school system. But it also sits in a healthy financial position, primed to take on debt, if necessary, to address county needs.

During a recent meeting between the Jackson County Commission and Board of Education, the school system laid out its most pressing capital needs. The county commission, responsible for funding public school capital projects, will determine funding level for the school system when it undergoes budget discussions in the coming months.

There has long been talk of creating a traditional middle school in Jackson County, but now the conversation appears to be picking up steam. In a January joint meeting with the Jackson County Commission, the school board listed a traditional middle school as one of its top budget priorities.

A controversial education bill making its way through the Republican-dominated North Carolina General Assembly proposes granting parents a slate of “rights” they already have while taking more power from locally elected school boards and prohibiting instruction on a topic that doesn’t currently exist in state educational standards.

After much discussion and community input, the Jackson County School Board has decided to keep its middle school sports situation as it is, with both school-based and district sports teams.

Following direction from the Macon County Board of Commissioners, the Macon County Board of Education met last week to prioritize its numerous capital outlay requests.

This month, the Macon County Schools Board of Education voted to approve its 2022-23 Budget Resolution.

Jackson County schools will once again expand its pre-K capacity at the start of the 2023-24 school year, this time with a second classroom at Smokey Mountain Elementary School in Whitter

As Swain County Schools digs into the 2022-23 budget, staff are planning for the largest fund balance allocation needed in recent years — over $1 million — to balance that budget. This is largely due to the discrepancy between state mandated pay increases for public school staff and state/federal funding levels.

The Cherokee Tribal Council allocated an additional $1.38 million to Cherokee Central Schools during an Oct. 24 Annual Council session, increasing the school system’s minimum wage to $15 per hour and giving employees a cost-of-living increase.