Polk considers two-year terms for planning board, page 6
Tryon Daily Bulletin
The World’s Smallest Daily Newspaper
Vol. 86 / No. 147
Tryon, N.C. 28782
Monday, August 26, 2013
Only 50 cents
Learning on a shoestring by Samantha Hurst
When doors open to Polk County classrooms Monday, Aug. 26 teachers and staff expect to welcome about 2,500 students into the system, all while facing financial cutbacks, according to local education leaders. Superintendent Bill Miller said Polk County Schools’ Board of Education worked hard during this recession to make smart choices so the system would not have to lose key positions. “Our board is having to do all kinds of things and I’ve been going around meeting with schools and teachers to talk with them about what we’re doing to meet our budget,” Miller said. In this year’s state budget, funding for teacher assistants was cut 21 percent, Miller said. Next year, Miller said his board has been told to expect a cut of an additional 20 percent. “So by the end of next year, money for teaching assistants will effectively (education continued on page 3)
Michelle Richardson is returning for her first year back in the classroom after taking several years off to raise her daughters. Richardson is seen here passing out folders to each desk in her secondgrade classroom at Polk Central. (photo by Samantha Hurst)
Have the life or memory of a loved one immortalized, or have your name engraved on a brick paver at Pace Park in Saluda. This park will be in the alley by M.A. Pace General Store and will be the location of a Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Interpretation Sign and future public bathrooms. Info: Catherine Ross at 828-749-3534 or carnc@charter.net.
Polk After School program to restart in October by Samantha Hurst
An announcement that Polk County School’s After School program won’t start until October has many parents scrambling to find after school care for their children this week. “I was talking to some [parents] today,” Polk Schools Superintendent Bill Miller said on Friday, “they don’t know
what to do on Monday. We know that puts parents in a bad spot.” Polk County has provided an After School program for the last eight years. Last year, about 275-300 kids from the system’s four elementary schools and one middle school attended the program.
Serving Polk County and Upper Spartanburg and Greenville Counties
(After school continued on page 4)