At a recent Swain County Board of Education meeting, members approved the district’s county budget request and several budget amendments, adopted the 2025–26 school calendar, approved an SRO memorandum of understanding and authorized continued contract negotiations with Vannoy Construction pending final contract language.
North Carolina / School Districts / Swain County Schools
District staff presented local EOC retesting data showing growth for many retesters (58% showed improvement; 34% of retesters moved from non-proficient to proficient) and discussed extending retesting to eligible students across the district.
North Carolina / School Districts / Swain County Schools
Athletic director Scotty McMahan presented a revised athletics budget breakdown, discussed ticketing, concessions, sponsorship banners, the Maroon Devil Network revenue potential, and fundraising events to offset travel and official costs.
North Carolina / School Districts / Swain County Schools
Maintenance staff presented a seven-year plan to replace aging vehicles, prioritize the most critical units in years 1–2, and explore financing options including fleet purchasing, leasing and use of year-end surplus or lottery/capital funds.
North Carolina / School Districts / Swain County Schools
The Swain County Board of Education unanimously approved the consent agenda, adopted revisions to policy 4400 (attendance) and policy 4060 (Native American policy), and adopted the 2025–26 budget that includes a $52 million state award for a new middle school and a 5% county match.
North Carolina / School Districts / Swain County Schools
Board reviewed and approved annual revisions to policy 4060 while staff described changes to allow non-school-funded therapy providers to use facilities after school via a facilities-use form; Blue Ridge Health remains grandfathered under an existing agreement.
North Carolina / School Districts / Swain County Schools
District auditor delivered an unmodified (clean) opinion for the 2025 audit, reported no internal-control findings or misstatements, and highlighted fund-balance and cash-balance changes across general, capital outlay and child-nutrition funds.
North Carolina / School Districts / Swain County Schools
A local parent urged the Swain County Schools board to commission an independent investigation after alleging students organized repeated fights, citing videos and chat logs and saying his nephew was injured; the board did not immediately open an investigation during the meeting.
North Carolina / School Districts / Swain County Schools
Swain County Schools said it received a two-year $200,000 grant from the Dogwood organization with Franklin Covey and a local partner to rebuild the Leader in Me program; district leaders said it could save $50,000–$60,000 a year in local budget costs while a lighthouse-team will assess program authenticity before future decisions.
North Carolina / School Districts / Swain County Schools
The Swain County Schools board discussed a proposed policy restricting private therapy and outside providers during school time unless covered by an IEP/504 or an approved MOU, heard public comments from a parent asking for permissions for an OT provider, and voted to table the policy to seek further clarification.