Last Wednesday, Congressman Mark Meadows toured East Franklin Elementary school to discuss Macon County schools' security needs.

Meadows' visit stems from a bill he introduced into Congress on Feb. 15, which calls for $30 million to reinstate the “Cops in Schools” program that was started 15 years ago. Meadows, has garnered national attention for his stance on strengthening school security throughout the nation.

Holland, along with Sheriffs from across Western North Carolina have been vocal of their support of hiring school resource officers to increase the state of security for publicly funded facilities.

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The search for a new principal at Franklin High School is nearing completion. According to Macon County School Director of Personnel Dan Moore, the school system will interview six candidates for the position next Wednesday, March 6. Moore said the position received 30 total applicants, which have now been narrowed down to six of whom will move forward with the interview process.

Moore gave the Board of Education an update on the search process during Monday night's meeting, and informed them that he anticipates that a selection will be made and a name will be ready for board approval by the March 18 board meeting.

The six prospective candidates will all be interviewed at the central office on Wednesday, according to Moore.

Macon County schools is working to keep up with the changing technology and influx of social media platforms. During February's regularly scheduled meeting, Director of Personnel Dan Moore briefed board members on a new social networking policy for the district.

The policy, which the board approved under its first reading, meaning they will review the policy over the next month and consider it for final approval in March, is designed to address the increase of social media usage and to establish boundaries that allow school employees to maintain a safe environment for all students.

According to the proposed policy, cyber-bullying, threats of violence, and internet sexual predators have become increasingly common in the last few years, causing concern for school systems across the nation. Disciplinary actions based on information posted by students on public websites have become too common in the school system, and in an attempt to avoid future problems in Macon County, the social networking policy was created.

State reversions and pay raises exacerbate situation.

Despite making significant cuts to operational costs since last fall, Macon County Schools are in serious financial trouble for the remainder of the 2012-13 school year. The situation is not a complete surprise, as Macon County Schools finance director Angie Cook and Interim Superintendent Dr. Jim Duncan announced last September that without a fund balance, the school system would be in trouble by the end of the year.

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