By Ryan Lewis
Correspondent
JASPER, Tenn. – With construction pending on a post-secondary technical training center in Kimball, Marion County commissioners say an education foundation is needed to provide oversight.
They’re just not sure about the details.
“Every successful business or organization has to have a board of directors,” Commissioner Thomas Thompson said. “If we create this education foundation, we’re opening the door to private donations for education. We need this because I don’t think we’re going to have too many private donations to the county commission.”
At the May meeting of the Marion County Commission, officials voted to form the nonprofit education foundation, but they will not decide on details of its makeup for at least another month.
Commissioners are concerned with some of the particulars of the first draft of bylaws and membership qualifications that would govern the foundation. In particular, officials questioned exactly who should serve on the board and its accountability.
“I think we need a board, and I think we need one pretty quick,” Commissioner Les Price said. “I don’t think we need one that’s made up of county commissioners. We don’t need a board that doesn’t report to us, either. It can’t be a separate entity that isn’t accountable to anybody.”
Mr. Thompson said the County Commission is not set up to micromanage, so an education foundation that includes educators and local business leaders as well as county commissioners is what is needed.
“I would be cautious about using just county commissioners on the board,” Marion County Attorney Billy Gouger said. “You certainly can have them on the board, but I think you need a cross-section of everyone that would be involved with it.”
Mr. Gouger said the County Commission will have the final say on the details of the foundation’s framework until the board of directors formally takes over control.
The commission’s education committee will be in charge of working out those fine points and presenting its proposal as early as next month’s meeting, officials said.
“The issue of the bylaws can be worked out at a later time,” Mr. Gouger said. “The creation of the entity is the first step.”
Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34@gmail.com.