The president of Mountain Empire Community College is scheduled to speak to the Lee County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, October 20. The topic is the college’s Promise Program, which lets local high school graduates attend tuition-free.
The board’s August 18 minutes also list a Mountain Empire Community College update with a two-word note: “Not Present.”
Tuesday’s regular meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the General District Courtroom on the third floor of the Lee County Courthouse in Jonesville. The posted agenda lists Dr. Kristen Westover, the college’s president, under delegations.
What the Promise Program covers
The program started with the class of 2023. According to the college’s program page, graduates of a public school or recognized home association in Lee, Scott, Wise or Dickenson counties or the City of Norton can attend MECC tuition-free.
It is a “last dollar” scholarship for tuition only. Federal aid, state aid and other scholarships are applied first, and the program does not cover books.
Students have to keep up their end. They must hold a 2.0 grade point average each semester and overall, stay enrolled full time without a break and meet Virginia residency rules. They must also file the FAFSA and the MECC Foundation scholarship application by August 1 each year.
Lee County’s part in it so far
Public records show how the county joined in. In late 2022, the college was still asking local governments for help. The minutes of the college’s local advisory board from November 15, 2022 say Norton, Wise and Scott had indicated they planned to help close the tuition gap for their graduates. Westover, those minutes say, planned “to reach back out to Lee County as they begin to build their budget.”
By the next summer, the program was in the county budget. The minutes of a June 20, 2023 budget discussion record a question about whether the MECC Promise was in the budget, and the answer “yes.” A list of budget changes at the June 28, 2023 recessed meeting includes “Adjusted MECC Promise Program to correct amount.”
A college official updated the board on February 20, 2024. According to the minutes, MECC had received a $750,000 grant to start the program and had asked each local board of supervisors for a donation. About 50 students from Lee County attended MECC in 2022, the minutes say, and about 45 that year.
The same minutes record that “$40,000.00 from last year has not been spent and will carry over for the next year.” They do not say whose money the $40,000 was, and the October agenda does not say whether the college will ask the board for money this time.
Also on Tuesday’s agenda
- Supplemental appropriations for the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office
- Quotes from East Tennessee Sprinkler Co. and Johnson Controls, and a proposal from Germa Kleen
- A personal property tax exemption request from Air Mobile Ministries
- A resolution on county credit cards
- Appointments to nine boards, including the Board of Zoning Appeals, the Dryden Water Authority, Social Services and the Tourism Committee
Residents can address the board during public expression. The agenda also allows for an optional executive session, and the board will be asked to approve the minutes of its two September 15 meetings.
What the board did on September 15
Those September minutes have not been approved yet. So this account of the September 15 regular meeting comes from the county’s audio recording, which The Lee Daily Register reviewed.
The board passed a resolution for the school division’s $8,694,742 in carryover funds. The September agenda describes that money as textbook funds and state direct aid that need no added local match.
Supervisors also approved Joseph Schrock’s special use permit for a dry kiln and woodworking business in the Flatwoods community. The approval came with the conditions the planning commission had recommended.
The board took no action on two zoning changes. One would have redefined campgrounds, and the other would have removed the county’s recreational vehicle park rules. Neither drew a motion when it came up. Near the end of the meeting, when the RV item was raised again, a board member said the board’s consensus was not to take any action on it.
During public comment, a resident urged the board to adopt a moratorium on data centers or let county voters decide. The board also voted to renew its $300 featured sponsorship of the Lee County Tobacco Festival, set for October 24. After a closed session, it voted to advertise for an assistant county administrator and an Economic Development Authority director.