JARRETT GOODMAN
Staff Writer
The Marion County Board Of Education has held a meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 7.
The meeting consisted of several follow ups and financial reports regarding the different schools
and educational programs within the county, such as funding for grants for art classes in Whitwell, as well as the usage of drones for several of the school districts.
Ryan Phillips, Chairman of the Board shared more insight into the current agendas of the board itself. “We have different minor items in our agenda.” said Phillips, while following up with information regarding the removal of equipment for the nursing classes at NHC Hospital in neighboring Dunlap. “Disposal and removal of equipment of MOU between Marion County Schools and NHC
Sequatchie. Which is for our nursing students.”
On the topic of the usage of drones by one of the attending residents of the area, Dr. Mark Griffith, Director of Marion County Schools, explained that drones have been in recent use to capture footage of local football games. He also added that under policy, the use of the drones to capture footage of local games helps in compliance with both state law as well as the board’s insurance company. Dr. Griffith explained that one of the drones is fully owned by the Board of Education which is also used for checking on the maintenance of school buildings and structuring, such as the roof of a school building. He further notes that the drone is annually registered as required.
Additional information that was shared in the meeting included final payments for the completion of the new building for Jasper Middle School, as well as planned funding for the renovation of Whitwell High School’s auditorium. Dr. Griffith also mentioned about new projects being in the works. “We’ve got a lot more projects on the radar.” he stated.
The next board meeting will be held on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 5 p.m.
