Hoosier Elected to SUD Board

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

Ron Hoosier was elected to serve a four-year term on the Board of Commissioners of the Sewanee Utility District of Franklin and Marion Counties. The results of the election were announced at the Jan. 27 meeting. Hoosier’s term begins in February. 

At the January meeting the board reviewed year-end data for 2014 and looked at progress on the Constructed Wetlands project. The board also discussed concerns about low water pressure in the Midway community.

Hoosier will assume Cliff Huffman’s Marion County seat. The board thanked Huffman, who served on the board eight years, three of those years as chair. 

Reporting on 2014 financial data, SUD Manager Ben Beavers said total revenues were 1.2 percent above budget. Water sales were 3.5 percent less than expected, but sales of water taps made up for the revenue deficit. Operating expenses for 2014 were 11.4 percent less than expected.

The installation of automated meter reading (AMR) technology, largely charged to the 2014 budget, cost SUD $300,000 according to Beavers. SUD paid for the project without borrowing money and without dipping into savings by drawing on accrued income in its cash accounts.

Beavers anticipates final data will show unaccounted-for water loss decreased in 2014, contrary to what earlier data indicated. [Unaccounted-for water loss is the difference between water produced and water registered as passing through customer meters.] A software error resulted in reports for the last three months showing inaccurately low water use from two-inch commercial meters installed during the AMR upgrade. The unreported water registered as unaccounted-for loss, and customers with two-inch meters were under-billed. 

Two-inch meter customers will receive a revised bill, Beavers said, with the additional amount owed per customer averaging $50–$100. Beavers predicted 21–22 percent unaccounted-for water loss for 2014,  compared to 23 percent in 2013.

Sewanee forestry professor Scott Torreano updated the board on the trial wetlands slated for construction at the SUD Wastewater Treatment Plant, in conjunction with a research project undertaken jointly by the University of the South and the University of Georgia. University of the South legal counsel Donna Pierce and the project engineering firm Golder and Associates are reviewing the licensing agreement drafted by SUD’s attorney, Don Scholes. Golder engineers will be in Sewanee Feb. 3–4 to visit the project site and discuss the design. Torreano invited Beavers and SUD board members to participate in the meetings.

Commissioner Randall Henley said two constituents asked him if SUD had plans to address low water pressure in the Midway community. SUD initially intended to install a pressure boosting station, Beavers said. SUD has tried for more than a year, without success, to get a landowner to grant the easement necessary for the project to move forward. Beavers said relocating the project closer to the airport would add $20,000 to the cost, making it difficult to justify the expense since only 10–12 Midway customers would benefit.

The board designated the fourth Tuesday of each month as the meeting date in 2015. At the Feb. 24 meeting, Hoosier will be sworn in.

SUD Board Opening

The SUD board is seeking nominees to run for the office of SUD Marion County commissioner. SUD board president Cliff Huffman’s term will expire in January; Huffman is term-limited and cannot seek re-election. Nominees must be SUD customers and must reside in Marion County; however, all SUD customers may vote in this election.

SUD is an independent government agency. It is governed by a five-person board of commissioners who are elected by the ratepayers. Any ratepayer can run for a seat. 

Water treatment and distribution and wastewater collection and treatment are the responsibilities of the board. They set the rates, set the budget, deal with regulatory agencies and plan for the future. 

Prospective nominees should contact the SUD office by calling 598-5611.

SUD Rate Increase Probable in 2015 • Nominees Needed for Marion County Seat

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

At the Nov. 24 meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the Sewanee Utility District of Franklin and Marion Counties, SUD manager Ben Beavers proposed reducing the 2015 budget by $110,000 to avoid a sharp rate increase.

To comply with Tennessee Utility Management Review Board standards, SUD must show a net positive income in 2015, since SUD didn’t show a net positive income in 2014 due to the cost of installing automated meter reading technology. SUD’s consulting firm, Raftelis Financial Inc., recommended SUD increase rates 9–10 percent in 2015.

Beavers suggested putting off painting the water tank until 2016 and reducing by half the amount allocated for wastewater collection system repair in 2015; these two changes would reduce the proposed 2015 budget by $110,000.

On the recommendation of the board, Beavers will revise the budget and send it to Raftelis for review. Beavers estimates only a 3 percent rate increase will be necessary with the budget revision. In the past four years, SUD raised rates twice, in 2011 and in 2013.

Another possible savings in 2015 could come from a reduction in office staff. Currently, the office staff consists of Beavers and two office employees. One employee is leaving in mid-December. Beavers said a part-time employee might be sufficient to maintain the level of segregation of duties required by the comptroller to provide oversight for authorizing expenses and making deposits. Beavers will wait until February to make a decision about hiring to see how efficiently the office operates with a staff of two and what the needs are. Hiring a part-time employee instead of a full-time employee could save SUD $20,000 or more per year.

Beavers revisited the issue of ownership of the trial wetlands slated for construction at the SUD wastewater treatment plant in conjunction with a research project undertaken jointly by the University of the South and the University of Georgia. Beavers consulted with SUD attorney Don Scholes, who said a deed transferring ownership of the constructed wetlands to SUD upon completion is not necessary since SUD already owns the land. Scholes recommended a document licensing the University of the South to proceed with construction. Scholes will consult with University attorney Donna Pierce and draft a document for the board’s review.

In regard to the related question of project funds being set aside to decommission the wetlands site if the project did not continue, Beavers said the amount could not be determined until the design was finalized.

University forestry professor Scott Torreano, the wetlands project construction manager, said he planned to have a design for SUD to review by mid December. Torreano anticipates the wetlands will be ready for planting by graduation.

The SUD board is seeking nominees to run for the office of SUD Marion County commissioner. SUD President Cliff Huffman’s term will expire in January; Huffman is term-limited and cannot seek re-election. Nominees must be SUD customers and must reside in Marion County. Prospective nominees should contact the SUD office by calling 598-5611.

In December, the board will meet a week early, on Dec. 16.

Franklin County Schools Get Report Card : Tucker Calls Results “Disconcerting”

by Kevin Cummings,  Messenger Staff Writer

Franklin, Grundy, Marion and Coffee counties all spend about the same amount of money on public education, but there are differences in the outcomes. On the state’s annual “report card” for schools, the Tennessee Department of Education gave Franklin County schools a grade of “A” in social studies and “Bs” in math, reading/language arts and science. The rating is based on a three-year average of TCAP scores for grades 3–8. The state’s scale for an “A” is between 55 and 99 percent and for a “B” it is from 50 to 54 percent.

Grundy County earned the lowest grades in the area, with “Cs” in three subjects and a “B” in math. Marion and Coffee posted marks similar to Franklin County. 

Adam Tucker, a member of the Franklin County Board of Education, said he is concerned that Franklin County is below Tennessee averages in state-mandated test scores and student growth/improvement.

“While some of this may be due to the district’s implementation of certain curricular requirements earlier than other districts across the state, this fact is still disconcerting,” Tucker said.

Rebecca Sharber, director of Franklin County schools, gave a presentation on the state’s report card at the school board meeting on Nov. 10. She said in an interview on Nov. 11 that she was pleased that “we are holding our own” in academic achievement, but is also concerned with academic growth. “We’re not as good as we want to be, but people are working hard,” she said.

The report card also measures improvement on TCAP scores from previous years. In this area for grades 4–8, the state awarded Franklin County “Ds” in science, reading/language arts and social studies. The state gave a “B” in math, which was the only subject that reflected a slight increase in the report.

The other three counties posted better grades for improvement, with Coffee County earning the top score with a “C” in reading, a “B” in science and “As” in social studies and math.

The state did not award letter grades at the high school level, but a comparison of graduation rates shows Franklin County at 89.1 percent for 2014. Both Coffee and Grundy counties had slightly higher graduation rates than Franklin County. Marion County had the lowest rate of the four, at 84 percent. 

In a comparison of the average composite ACT scores for the last three years, Franklin County scored an 18.6, with Marion and Coffee slightly higher. Grundy County’s average ACT score was 17.6.

“Ultimately, the report card presentation addressed how students are performing on the various state-mandated assessments,” Tucker said. “It did not address the more important questions of why these scores are what they are and what interventions are needed to improve student performance on these tests and, more importantly, overall student learning.”

Tucker asked Sharber to make a presentation at the Dec. 8 school board meeting to look at what district administrators and teachers are doing with the report card data to improve learning and achievement.

Last school year Franklin County schools spent an average of $9,030 per pupil, with 31.3 percent of that amount from local funding, 57.4 percent from the state, and 11.3 percent was federal money. In 2012–13, Franklin County spent $8,891 per student. The state average for 2013–14 was $9,346, according to the report card.

Grundy County averaged $9,280 per pupil, Coffee County spent $9,160 per student, and Marion County spent $8,687 per pupil. The state’s school report card is available at <www.tn.gov/education/data/report_card/>.

University Creates New Community Engagement Office

The University has announced the creation of an Office of Community Engagement. Spurred by the growth of the Bonner and Canale service internship programs in the College and the establishment of the South Cumberland Plateau VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) Program, the new office will work to meet the growing needs of students and expand the University’s relationships with other community organizations.

The Office of Community Engagement is composed of three staff members. Jim Peterman, professor of philosophy and director of Community Engagement, will continue to direct Community-Engaged Learning, the academic community engagement program, as well as the Bonner Leaders service internship program.

Nicky Hamilton, C’99, associate director of Community Engagement, will direct the South Cumberland Plateau VISTA Program and also assist the South Cumberland Community Fund to develop the capacity of community organizations to alleviate poverty. In this unique role, she will use her practical and academic training at the Clinton School of Pubic Service to help faculty and students understand how students can engage in the wide variety of facets of community engagement as a central component of their education in which they learn optimal ways of making a difference in their communities.

Robin Hille Michaels, assistant director of Community Engagement, will continue work with students through the Bonner Leaders Service Internship Program and the Canale Service Internship Program. In working closely with students and community partners to place students in community organizations, she helps Sewanee service interns develop professional skills and social understanding commensurate with the demands of their service projects.

The Community Engagement Office will work with its community partners to understand needs in the three-county area (Franklin, Grundy and Marion counties); what organizations (churches, clinics, schools) are invested in addressing those needs; what community-based research projects may assist; and how to align resources, including student internships, in support of those organizations and community-based research projects. In doing so, the new office seeks to support the University’s purpose to help students lead lives of “achievement and service” in local communities.

Given the burgeoning community engagement activity at the University by students, faculty and staff (sometimes with multiple groups reaching out to the same community organizations), the time is right to administer these community partnerships through an office that is aware of and able to monitor all of the programmatic relationships, and ensures that they are not only sustainable but also beneficial to Sewanee students and the local communities hosting them. 

The current community engagement plan and the University’s 2012 Strategic Plan envisioned the development of an Office of Community Engagement in its role in coordinating student opportunities “to learn about, and learn from, the variety of populations and their experiences, both locally and internationally. Many of the intractable problems facing the world—food security, poverty, public health, climate change and conflict—have local and global dimensions.” The opening of this office fulfills that goal.

Sewanee’s VISTA program came from a deepening of the University’s relationship to local community organizations and especially to the South Cumberland Community Fund, a co-sponsor and co-funder of this program. The VISTA program is also underwritten in part by the Jessie Ball duPont Fund. The program is also supported by a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service.

For more information contact Peterman by email, <jfpeterm@sewanee.edu>.