Fentress County Executive Elect to Pursue Long Term Campus

Fentress County will pursue the possibility of creating a permanent Roane State Campus.

That according to Fentress County Executive-elect Jimmy Johnson.

“If you can help a child getting out of high school to save any kind of money at all, you are hitting the home run right there I believe. We are going to pursue what we can with the help of York Institute, our local school system here, and state also federal. Whatever we can reach out and touch to help that, we are going to try to.”

Johnson said he believes the county could add a larger campus for Roane State.

“I believe there is some land. I have talked with the superintendent of York Institute,” Johnson said. “He believes it could be made available if we could come up with the funding from outside sources and this and that to make a long-standing, permanent campus.”

Johnson said a new campus would serve as an educational central hub for surrounding counties. Students from Overton, Pickett, and Scott County could use the larger campus.

Although education remains a priority to Fentress County, building a new campus will take time, Johnson said.

“We would have to work with the state and get a certain amount of years lease from the state because it would be on property that is included in the York Institute Campus at this time,” Johnson said. “So it would be a lot of phone calls and a lot of people to talk to. It will be on the chalkboard to pursue and we will try to pursue it if there is any way possible that we can.”