NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration announced Wednesday that it has agreed with higher education leaders to have an outside group review the Republican’s privatization plan for building maintenance at Tennessee’s public colleges and universities.
Haslam plans to release his “business justification” for his privatization efforts by the end of the month. The governor has said the University of Tennessee and Board of Regents systems would be given the choice of opting out of the plan and emphasized that any deal would preclude any reduction in the number of employees over the length of the contract.
The independent review should help dispel concerns that the state won’t save the as much money as projected.
“I think it’s important to have that outside, third party validator saying those numbers are real,” Haslam told reporters.
In a joint statement, University of Tennessee President Joe DiPietro and Regents Chancellor David Gregory agreed to consider the third-party review and said that no decision has yet been made on whether to proceed with the privatization proposal.