Two school board seats up for grabs this fall

Oct. 19—Four Haywood County school board seats are up for election this fall, but two are running unopposed.

The two incumbents running unopposed are Steven Kirkpatrick, representing Fine's Creek, and Jimmy Rogers, representing Clyde.

One incumbent — Larry Henson, representing the Bethel district — has a challenger: Mike Graham, retired owner of Jukebox Junction.

The final seat, which represents the Crabtree-Iron Duff district, is an open race pitting two female candidates — Brooke Guge Haynes and Marla Morris — against one another after incumbent Bobby Rogers chose not to seek re-election.

Larry Henson, Bethel district incumbent

Henson, 59, is the proprietor of Henson Tree Service.

Henson, a Pisgah High School graduate, has been on the school board for 12 years and serves on the Finance Committee.

He attends church at Bible Baptist in Waynesville.

Henson has four grandchildren in Haywood County Schools, and they are his inspiration for running again.

"I want to try to make the best education possible for all kids in Haywood County," he said.

Henson has been on the school board for the entirety of the August 2021 flooding and subsequent rebuild in Haywood County. Seeing the process through is one of his main goals.

"I want to try to get everything flood-related all finished up, and get some normalcy back in the school system, not only from the flood but also from COVID."

In 2018, Henson won election without a challenger, but will have a challenger this year in newcomer Mike Graham.

Mike Graham, Bethel district candidate

Graham, 63, is retired but is the former owner of Jukebox Junction restaurant.

Originally from Connecticut, Graham worked in Denny's restaurants in Florida, working his way up the ladder to become a district training manager and troubleshooter.

After Denny's, he worked in Central Florida school systems implementing culinary arts training programs there, eventually moving to Bethel where his in-laws lived.

Graham would seek to be a catalyst for change on the school board by bringing in his ideas.

"Larry [Henson] is a very popular person and has done a lot. His family comes into my restaurant a lot," noting that his decision to run against Henson was more about getting his own ideas out there. "It's nothing against him. For what [the school board] has had to go through, I think they've done a tremendous job," he said.

Graham has spent his career in hospitality, and recognizes how lucrative training the next generation can be, both for the county and for kids.

"Tourism is probably the top industry in Haywood County, and that's out-of-state/county money. We need an infrastructure to bring in new workers to guide people into hospitality jobs," he said, noting that many of his employees at Jukebox Junction were high school students.

He would like to see money invested in school hospitality programs, adding that hospitality jobs are now very lucrative.

"My son's fiancée is a server at a restaurant in Waynesville and she made over $80,000 last year, so don't tell me they're dead-end jobs," Graham said.

He'd also like to see a board member sitting on the Tourism Development Authority Board, which he'd be willing to do if elected.

Graham also noted he wanted to make school improvement plans more effective and visible, and add additional, highly-trained school psychologists and guidance counselors as goals.

Brooke Guge Haynes, Crabtree/Iron Duff district candidate

Haynes, 44, is a full-time mother of three children, cheer coach for Waynesville Middle and substitute teacher in Haywood County Schools.

A 1996 graduate of Tuscola High School, she received a bachelor's degree in human ecology from The University of Tennessee, where she graduated summa cum laude in three years.

After graduation, she worked in community health education at the Buncombe County Health Department until the birth of her first son, at which time she became a full-time mom while being a group fitness instructor and personal trainer at Haywood Regional Health and Fitness Center.

After 17 years, she retired from fitness and moved into coaching, where she is currently in her fourth year at WMS.

She is an active member of Antioch Baptist Church, serves as treasurer of the Big T Club (Tuscola's athletic booster club) and is a frequent attendee of both WMS and Tuscola activities, as well as Haywood County school board meetings.

Haynes said her main reason behind running for election is her passion for children and education.

"I believe that all children, regardless of ability, deserve the opportunity to become the best version of themselves. I believe it is the responsibility of parents, teachers, administrators and the school board to work together to provide these opportunities and help children flourish."

Haynes said she has three goals if she's elected: cultivate an environment that supports students, teachers and staff, serve as a liaison between parents and the school system to address concerns, and create and implement policies and procedures that support all students county wide.

She said her life experiences, history in the school system and youth sports, passion for children and family dynamics all qualify her to be a member of the school board.

"I have experience with children with all backgrounds and abilities, and regardless of my own personal beliefs and convictions, I am capable of honoring and respecting differing opinions and practices. It is my desire to uphold the rules and laws of our governing bodies," she said.

Marla Morris, Crabtree/Iron Duff district candidate

Morris, 51, has spent the last 22 years as a volunteer in the public school system.

Her roles therein include PTO Officer, School Improvement Team member, substitute teacher and member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

She is a Tuscola High School graduate and earned a degree from Western Carolina University.

Morris serves on the Southwest North Carolina Fellowship of Christian Athletes board of directors and serves as a youth leader at Dellwood Baptist Church.

Morris said she is looking for a new opportunity to serve the students, teachers and staff of Haywood County Schools.

"I have always believed strongly in living a life of service and investing in meaningful work every day," she said.

Morris said she has three goals if elected: establish an innovative trade school, raise retention rates and ensure success for students in and out of the classroom.

"I would love to see our county establish an innovative trade school that would allow students the opportunity to reinvest back into our county. Second, continue to grow our schools by maintaining a positive retention rate. Third, ensuring our students have every opportunity for success both in and out of the classroom," she said.

Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 8. To find your polling place through the Voter Search tool, visit vt.ncsbe.gov/reglkup/. One-stop early voting opens Thursday, Oct. 20 and ends at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5. To find locations and hours of early voting, check with your county board of elections office, or visit vt.ncsbe.gov/OSSite.