KYLE MURPHYStaff Writer

The Tullahoma Utilities Authority (TUA) passed a resolution to form a partnership with Tullahoma City Schools (TCS) to provide educational opportunities to students.

In its July 23 meeting, the TUA board of directors were presented with the resolution to approve a partnership between TUA and TCS to enhance educational opportunities and community engagement.

According to the memo from TUA President Allen Potter, the goal of the partnership is to provide support to local students through scholarships and co-op opportunities that are aligned with TUA’s mission and commitment to the community.

“Tullahoma Utilities Authority has long been dedicated to serving our community with excellence in utility services,” he said.

As part of TUA’s ongoing commitment to the development of the utility authority’s future workforce and community stewardship, Potter said the partnership with TCS will establish the following initiatives:

Co-op opportunities: TUA will offer co-op opportunities to TCS students interested in gaining practical experience in utility operations. These positions will provide hands-on learning experiences, mentorship and exposure to various aspects of utility management and operations while earning high school credits.

Scholarship program: TUA will allocated $25,000 annually to fund scholarships for graduating seniors from TCS, which will support students pursuing higher education in career fields relevant to TUA’s operations, like engineering, environmental science and utility management.

“The implementation of these programs will be overseen collaboratively by representatives from Tullahoma Utilities Authority and Tullahoma City Schools,” Potter said in the memo. “Together, we will ensure that the scholarship and co-op opportunities are effectively promoted, administered and evaluated to maximize their impact on our students and community.”

Potter said he had been working with TCS Director of Schools Dr. Catherine Stephens about the partnership, and said once approved they will begin recruitment at Tullahoma High School the following week for students.

After the resolution was opened for discussion, Vice Chair Jimmy Blanks said from the board’s previous meetings where they discussed where TUA needed to go for the future that some form of a partnership with the school system was high on the list, and he thought the resolution presented to them was “super-duper.”

City Board Liaison Mayor Ray Knowis echoed Blanks statement and said the resolution was a wonderful program, but he asked if there were more details on how students will be selected for co-op opportunities and scholarships. Potter said Stephens sent over documentation on how to form scholarships and how to select recipients for said scholarships. As for choosing co-op students, he said TUA wants to find students that want a future in engineering, accounting, customer service and any other job fields that TUA can provide.

“That way they go off to college and hopefully they can come back one day, maybe not work in TUA, somewhere in the community,” Potter said.

Knowis clarified his question about how will they select the students for the scholarships, citing his experience on serving a committee where they would select five students out of 12 to receive a scholarship. While he didn’t go into details, Potter said his ideas for the criteria would focus on students who wouldn’t receive scholarships for college.

“Maybe it’s a student who wants to go lineman training, a student who wants to go to a technical school and also something that would benefit TUA if there was an opening if they so choose,” he said. “We want to target students that may not receive scholarships.”

Board member Patty Deen had questions regarding who will be teaching the students and who will be developing the curriculum, while also praising that there was a focus in helping students who want to go to trade schools than college.

“I want to make sure we are targeting a range of students with a range of interests making sure that there are staff here that can meet their needs,” she said.

Potter said all the details regarding the curriculum are being ironed out as the students will be receiving credit for graduation. Blanks said he believed Potter and Stephens will get it worked out.

“There will be bumps in the road initially, when you get implementation there always is,” Blanks said. 

With no further discussion, the board unanimously approve the resolution to form the partnership between TUA and TCS. Board Chairman JT Northcutt and Mike Stanton were absent.