The Trigg County Board of Education began preliminary conversations Thursday night, surrounding the potential of providing financial assistance to the Genesis Express capital fund project — in which the 35-year organization has well-developed plans to construct a new community center on Jefferson Street.
Though no action was taken by the district’s governing body, it was Superintendent Bill Thorpe — currently in Frankfort navigating the state’s legislative session — opening the door on the discussion.
Trigg County Finance Officer Holly Greene brought up a strong point, in that simply donating to the project from the school’s general fund wouldn’t just be an unauthorized use of local tax dollars, but potentially an illegal one — something in which the school’s attorney Jack Lackey Jr. readily agreed.
Greene’s solution: earmark specific percentages of the quarterly Spirit Card payments that derive from local use of FNB Bank debit cards — in what would be an in-kind return to the people of Trigg County.
Spirit Card dollars typically crest more than $10,000 per quarter, thought it recently was capped by FNB officials.
And though some of those monies are already earmarked for some upcoming projects, Greene noted this seemed like a strong option to help. No action was taken Thursday, but present members in Theresa Allen, Gayle Rufli and Chair Jo Alyce Harper, and a virtual Thorpe, said further discussions would be imminent.
In November 2021, Genesis Express President George Radford said the 12,000-square-foot “Intergeneration Center” would cost approximately $1.2 million to construct, and would be built on a tract of land donated to the organization. More than $200,000 in donations were in the bank, as of early November.
Other notes from Thursday’s meeting:
— According to the district’s COVID-19 dashboard, Trigg County has 13 active cases within its staff pool, 56 active cases among students and 90 students in quarantine. Director of Personnel and Student Services James Mangels noted there was 100% teacher participation through two NTI days observed January 6 and January 7, while student participation was respectively 92.1% and 91.3%, which is roughly in line with this year’s 92.5% attendance rate.
— The board did unanimously approve the 2022-23 academic calendar, which has a start date of Thursday, August 11 and an end date of Tuesday, May 23, next year. This includes 173 instructional days, 187 contractual days for staff, a considerable break around the 2022 Trigg County Country Ham Festival, a March 2023 mini-break, and some flexibility.
