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Anson County student urges board to keep longtime community coach
Summary
A rising senior told the Anson County Schools board that students feel their voices are ignored and urged the district to retain community coaches — especially “Coach Mac” — saying he provides mentorship, time and unpaid support to the team.
Jaya Smith, a rising senior at Anson County Early College and a member of the superintendent student advisory council, told the Anson County Schools Board of Education during public comment that students feel heard but “not listened to” and urged the board not to remove community coaches.
“We are heard but not listened to, and we're tired of it,” Smith said. She said talks were underway about letting “Coach Mac” and “Coach Cline” go, and described Coach Mac as “more than just a coach” who has been a father figure to players, committed significant time and even “feeds us before every game out of his own pockets.”
Smith asked the board to consider the long-standing relationships and consistency community coaches provide, and warned that replacing them solely to hire staff who already work in the school system risks favoritism and undermines program integrity. She said students were not asking for special treatment but for fairness.
The board did not respond to the comment during the meeting. The board’s public comment rules — reiterated at the start of the meeting — state the board will not address public comment except for clarification until the superintendent has had an opportunity to investigate issues or legal counsel has been consulted.
No formal personnel action was taken during the meeting on the coaches’ status; Smith’s remarks were recorded during the public comment period and will be part of the meeting record.
The board chair noted this was the only signed public commenter for the evening and moved the meeting to the next agenda item.
