News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Livingston Mayor Curtis Hayes said he can work with whomever runs TCAT, but he is concerned about the long-term.
Hayes said he has serious concerns about having one director over two campuses. Hayes expressed the same concerns as many other leaders that the Crossville campus will become the priority over Livingston down the line.
“When the confetti is swept away,” Hayes said. “I’ve seen and history has shown me with other educational institutions that I have been involved with, programs have been took away and never gained any new programs. Maybe, I should say that any new programs that come seem to go to the other institution.”
Hayes said TCAT and the Tennessee Board of Regents leadership could calm some of those concerns by sitting down with local officials and laying out future plans.
“I would like TCAT and the Tennessee Board of Regents to have some strategic planning on exactly what is going to go down for the Livingston campus for the next five or ten years versus what is going down for the T-CAT campus in Crossville for the next five or ten years,” Hayes said. “That way we all know what to expect.”
The idea has been kept quiet from many leaders across the region. Hayes said he had a conversation with Interim Director Cliff Wightman several months ago regarding his concerns.
“I’m just concerned that if leadership is going to be running both who is to decide who gets which program,” Hayes said. That’s why I like having a person locally like we have over the last 50 years to run the TCAT institution, and its just proven to be a winning formula for Livingston.”
Hayes said Livingston acts as a hub for Jackson, Pickett and Clay counties. He said his concern is that students who come from all over the Upper Cumberland to the T-CAT Livingston campus will not get the same opportunities as those on the Crossville campus.
The Board of Regents voted to combine the administration overseeing the Crossville and Livingston TCAT campuses unanimously Friday.
