News, Sports, Features for all things Marion County, TN

By David Riley | on August 31, 2022

Jasper, Tenn. – The new Jasper Middle School building project has finally emerged on the other side of the gauntlet of statutory hurdles to look forward to a groundbreaking. Last night the Marion County School Board reconvened its meeting to act on the County Commission’s affirmation that it would fully fund the project. The debt bonds already sold in the amount of $25 million were inadequate to fund the lowest bid of almost $35 million. The difference between the already borrowed amount and the actual anticipated cost has proven to be a political hot potato for county commissioners and school board members.

Whereas the lowest bid from contractor TriCon was the number used for the commission’s approval, School Director Mark Griffith informed the school board that progress has already been gleaned from the bidder revisiting some of the costs and reducing overall costs where possible. Dr. Griffith asked the board to approve $32,649,000 with the contingency that further savings could be extracted. Griffith said, “If this board could approve $32,649,000 with the understanding of a possibility of future negotiations of future savings, then I would ask the board to approve that.” Board member Linda Hooper, assuring that the school district has as little financial stake as possible, asked, “But this is all coming out of county money, not out of our budget?” Griffith indicated that was true. The board then approved the measure with the possibility of further savings.

After the board approved the agenda of the reconvened meeting as having “one item” for the board’s consideration, there was further discussion regarding the air conditioning project at Whitwell High School. Board member Hooper wanted to say “on the record” regarding the delay in the installation was not the fault of the school board. “I spoke to our maintenance supervisor and Mr. Griffith before we came in…about Whitwell High School’s air conditioning issues. And they’re bad. I just want it publicly said that it’s a supply chain issue and they’re doing what they can. And we’ll be lucky if they have real air conditioning next year. And I think it would be well for the county commission to go around and see what needs really are there, but we can’t make them do that.”

Chairman Ryan Phillips dovetailed off from Hooper’s comments saying, “I think Mr. Brown will follow up on what you’re saying there because I know for sure we have some heat and air units that are due to be replaced, but we don’t have them. And I will say that it’s along the three-phase of commercial units and I do believe the residential are getting that way also. So it’s a supply chain, not a maintenance issue.” Griffith added, “I can say this, these units have been ordered some time ago, and we’re in the process of getting those processed….plus the Whitwell High School project was a little different project than any other project we had due to the fact that we had to maintain the current system in order to, while we were shifting over into the barred units. So the holes have been cut, the groundwork’s been laid, we’ve had admin electric in there constantly for the duration of the summertime. They had to close it out, put the drop ceiling back in for Fire Marshal purposes.” Griffith continued, “They are going to be working there during fall break. So every break that we have there will be personnel in the building to try to get that process to where…and actually after graduation in May, Mrs. {Teena} Cassaday and I, we have a plan to get students elsewhere in the building in pods where they can go ahead and start working on those.”

Board member Donna Blansett offered, “It would be nice if Marion County News was here to report that instead of [sic]

Recently reelected school board members Ryan Phillips, Bo Nunley, and Linda Hooper accept their oath with Sessions Court Judge Mark Raines officiating – Photo submitted

looks.”   To which Board member Bo Nunley chimed in with, “Amen to that.” An undetermined person said, “I would say he was summoned to the swearing-in,” referring to the swearing-in of the county-wide office holders as well as the county commissioners.

This makes the second time in three meetings that the school board opted to abandon restrictions on what could be added to the agenda after the board approved its agenda.  Following the adjournment of the extended meeting, members of the board who recently were reelected to the board in August’s county general election took their oaths to uphold the laws and constitution of the state of Tennessee, among other clauses of their pledges.

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