Highlands School has a legacy of being one of the finest schools in the state of North Carolina when it comes to educating its students.
As a way to ensure that legacy continues, the Macon County Board of Education heard about two proposals Monday night that would improve the school itself and thus the educational opportunities for students.
An addition to the building, to accommodate an additional Pre-K classroom, is in the works and a committee including Hilary Wilkes and Jeff Weller will begin working on the plan to make the addition a reality. The school board approved the formation of the committee on Monday night. Other members of the committee will include MCS Superintendent Chris Baldwin, facilities director Todd Gibbs and Macon County Commissioner Gary Shields.
It’s no secret that Highlands is in need of additional preschool and early childhood education options. Local daycares are at capacity with long waiting lists and there are more Pre-K eligible students than the school can currently accommodate. Building an addition to increase Pre-K capacity seems like a no-brainer.
Well made a presentation to the board regarding the state of Highlands’ soccer field, located behind the school. Whenever there is significant rain, the field floods and remains too wet to play games on for several days. It’s a problem that has become glaring the past two years as the Highlands area has experienced higher rainfall totals than normal.
Weller asked the school board to look into possibly installing a synthetic turf surface that would ensure the field would be playable despite the rain. While price tag was put on the project, a turf field would be a significant investment in athletics at Highlands School.
Shields informed the board that a similar proposal was on the table related to installing turf for the football field at the new Franklin High School when it is built. He added that there may be opportunities to look at both projects jointly, which would be a win-win for both schools.
Highlands is an excellent school, and as Monday night’s meeting made clear, the future for the facility is bright.