The Marshall County Council members were presented with an additional appropriation request from the Lifelong Learning Network for the READI grant match.
The READI grant awarded for the project was $1.750 million.
The council voted by majority in August to support the READI projects. In October, Lifelong Learning Network officials asked for $1.5 million out of the American Rescue Plan Act funds for a grant match for the construction of a Career Innovation Center that would house educational opportunities for school students and other continuing workforce options for adults.
Lifelong Learning Network Director Allie Shook gave the council an update on the organization Monday morning. She said early childhood is still moving forward with the hopes of hiring an early childhood coordinator soon. New CTE courses include Certified Medical Assistant, Vet Science, and Fire/Rescue. Shook noted they are continuing to work on adult education and workforce development opportunities as well.
“We’re really trying to connect the dots between everything, obviously, as much as we can, but also making sure that our kids know what employers are expecting and making sure our employers know where kids are for now and trying to connect the dots to make it a little earlier for everybody,” said Shook.
In the matter of the additional appropriation, the commissioners unanimously voted to support the funding out of American Rescue Plan Act funding received by the county.
The council voted 5-2 in favor of approving the request. Councilman Jesse Bohannon and Councilman Tim Harman provided the dissenting votes. Bohannon stated that he did not think the request was a “fundamental responsibility of county government” and exceeded what is being given to non-profit organizations. He commented that the money should be used on roads. Harman agreed with Bohannon adding that he would like to see the $1.5 million going toward infrastructure.
Later in the meeting, Councilman Heath Thornton stated that he voted in favor of the additional appropriation because he is in support of education, and the employers in the county would benefit from the training to be offered.
No other comments were provided by council members.
