Parents petition to remove superintendent from graduation speaker list amid prank controversy
As Smoky Mountain High School seniors prepared to graduate Thursday
By Samiar Nefzi
Click here for updates on this story
JACKSON COUNTY, North Carolina (WLOS) — Tensions between Smoky Mountain High School parents and the Jackson County Public Schools superintendent continue to grow.
As the Class of 2023 prepared to walk across the stage Thursday, June 8, 2023, parents took to the online petition Ayers OFF stage to request superintendent Dana Ayers be taken off of the speaker list.
More than 260 people signed the petition prior to the start of the graduation ceremony.
“She has refused (after legal attempts at a reconsideration) to show a guiding philosophy is even in place,” the petition reads. “Dana Ayers has shown arrogance, pride, a lack of leadership for her staff and a lot of blame towards (Smoky Mountain High principal) Evelyn Graning.”
Tensions sparked between Ayers and members of the Class of 2023 following a senior prank that took place on May 16.
Sources told News 13 students were allowed to perform a portion of the prank and then asked to leave. However, some students reentered the building through an open window to toilet paper and zip tie desks together.
The following day, students were called into the principal’s office at Smoky Mountain High and handed citations with several misdemeanor charges of vandalism and trespassing, one parent told News 13.
It was unclear whether seniors involved would be allowed to walk during the graduation ceremony until May 22, when Ayers sent a letter to parents.
The letter read in part, after a “long week of investigative work that has consumed an exorbitant amount of time that should have been spent focusing on instruction,” those charged in the prank “will be permitted to participate in graduation ceremonies.”
News 13 was at a school board meeting the following night, when some parents asked for alternatives to the charges.
“It is extremely upsetting,” parent Sommer Justice said on May 23. “These kids were there because they have school spirit, they love the school. I feel like if they were there for malicious intent, it would obvious.”
“These children that this school and community have stuck around for the last 13 years, not only are we going to give them a diploma in one hand, a number are going to get criminal charges in another,” attorney John Pavey said as he addressed the board on May 23.
Ayer spoke briefly during the ceremony.
According to a source close to the investigation, about 20 students have now been charged.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
