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School Board and Superintendent Today's Clay County system is Clay County Schools.
The School Board is the only board in the County that is elected by popular vote on a nonpartisan ticket in a general election. But in the early years, Clay County Commissioners appointed the Board. As then, the Board today is charged with formulating the governing rules for operating all the schools. It must comply with State Board of Education and State of North Carolina’s General Statutes that govern educational institutions. The Clay County School Board appoints the School Superintendent as the chief administrative officer who is responsible for carrying out all directives and who is in charge of school administrators.
The earliest records of the School Board Minutes in 1868 indicate that Mr. H. B. Alexander, County Examiner, performed the duties of the Superintendent prior to the first appointed Board members. Part of his job was to administer exams qualifying individuals to teach.
Then, as recorded in the Clay County Commissioners’ Board Minutes of June l, 1885, the first appointed official School Board members were these three: N.W. McClure, A. U. Brown, and G. W. Penland. In 1897, The Commissioners’ Minutes show that the Board appointed T. H. Hancock as Superintendent of Schools. Later records report that the same four men were on the School Board for 21 years! From 1900 to 1921, they were G. M. Fleming, G. H. Haigler, D. M. Stalling, and T. C. Scroggs, who also acted as the Superintendent. From 1921 to 1971, the Board again had only three appointed members; but beginning in 1972, membership increased to five as a result of the first nonpartisan general election.
Beginning in 1921 and lasting until 1956, the longest Superintendent’s term (35 years) was held by Allen J. Bell, who died in office. Hugh Scott Beal, the High School Principal then, became Superintendent and remained in office until 1973 (17 years). Following him was George Ed Phillips (1973 to l977), then Kyle (l977 to l982). Beginning in 1982, the Board appointed D. Scott Penland, who has served the County Schools for 25 years (this list provided by the Clay County Superintendent’s Office).
To help administer the school system today, the Superintendent has an Associate Superintendent an Assistant Superintendent. Also assisting him are three school principals, once each at the elementary, middle, and high schools. One important function of the Superintendent’s office is transporting students to the three schools. In the 1800s and early 1900s, students walked a mile or more one way to attend classes. In later years, a few students rode to school on a flat bed truck, “with some (trucks having a canvas cover tied over… to shelter…from the weather” (Leek, Ibid.). Beginning in the 1940s, transportation became covered metal busses, such as “Old Number 29”, which, during WWII, this Author recalls riding in the last metal bus made with the following configuration:
Students sat shoulder to shoulder facing inward on long wooden benches, one bench on each side along the windows, parallel to the length of the bus. In the middle aisle, other students sat back to back, sharing a long bus-length double-wide wooden bench having no back support. When the bus stopped to pick up or unload, to signal traffic, the student sitting directly behind the driver would hold a wooden red stop sign out the driver’s window.
During and shortly after WWII, busses were required to make more than a one-route trip a day to deliver students to and from school. The Author and his sister recall having to sit for long morning and afternoon bus trips, boarding at 6:15 a.m. and not returning home until after 5:00 p.m.
Currently the school system has 20 busses driving over 9l3 miles per day, traveling 19 different routes. During the 2005─2006 school year, these busses traveled 147,675 miles, collecting and delivering students to schools and returning them home. (Information supplied by Clay County School Garage Supervisor, Bill Martin.)
Teacher Preparation From 1850 until the early 1940s, not every student finished 12 grades of school, and teachers were often recruited among former students. In many cases, the prospective teacher needed only to complete a few grades in order to take a test to become a teacher, but only to teach the last grade completed. On April 14, 2005, Mr. Neal Jarrett and his wife Gladis, indicated that, during their school years in the 1920s, in some cases, the teachers were not much older than the students being taught. Also, Mr. Jarrett recalls that the teachers were paid only $6.00 per month and were required to teach more than one grade. In comparison, during the 2005 school year, the starting teacher with no experience under the State School Plan received $2,542 per month.
Today the requirements for teaching are much greater, and a teacher must have at least a four-year college degree. Clay County was proud to report in the 2005 academic year that, out of approximately 100 positions in the school system, 31 teachers had Masters Degrees and one had a Doctorate Degree in Education.
Throughout the history of Clay County’s schools, all teachers were required to sign a contract. An example of a teacher’s contract is one that J.V.A. Moore signed on August 5, 19l0. One of the most interesting parts of the contract is the description proving that he had fulfilled stipulations of the contract for other than teaching skills, including building desks and school steps.
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