Commission adds Mayview Middle School modular-lease item to finance committee after Q&A on safety, cost and timing

Hamblen County commissioners voted Feb. 20 to add to the finance committee agenda a proposal to lease five modular classrooms from Mobile Modular Management Corporation to house students while Mayview Middle School undergoes a two‑year renovation.

School presenter Jared Ladd told the commission the district needs five modular units to provide 10 classrooms that will replace nine displaced classrooms inside the school during construction. "We want to lease 5 modular units to house the students while this project is ongoing," Ladd said, and he described the lease as a 24‑month agreement the district must bring to the county because it exceeds one year.

The item was added to finance (listed as item 8d) so the committee can review the formal lease and related procurement details before the county approves any multi‑year contract.

Why it matters: Commissioners said they wanted to ensure the district minimizes student disruption, protects safety and uses public funds efficiently. The commission’s action moves the lease review into a committee that handles fiscal oversight before any final county approval.

Ladd said the district has bond funding already approved for the renovation and that the district estimates the total renovation at just under $13,300,000 and had originally budgeted about $1.7 million for modulars; he told commissioners the modular bids have come in lower than that estimate. The district plans to have the modulars delivered and set up by July so students can begin the next school year in the temporary classrooms. "The intent is to have it done, set up, and completed so that when we start school next year, the seventh graders will go into those," Ladd said.

Commissioners questioned logistics and safety. Commissioner Peggy Howe asked how the district would protect students if severe weather strikes while classes are held in modulars. Ladd said he had not yet documented a full storm/tornado plan for the modulars but that the district expects to move students into the interior of the main building in an emergency and would not leave students outside during severe weather. Commissioner Joe Huntsman pressed the timeline and why the renovation is estimated to take two years; Ladd and district staff said the project was budgeted as two phases to avoid excessive classroom disruption and preserve instruction during testing windows.

Board members also asked whether leasing was more cost‑effective than buying modulars. Ladd said the district considered buying but the board preferred leasing to ensure temporary units do not remain permanently on campus.

Action: The commission voted to add the Hamblen County Board of Education lease quotation and agreement with Mobile Modular Management Corporation to the finance committee agenda (item 8d). Roll call recorded: Debbie Ahern (Yes); Daniel Bell (Yes); Thomas Doty (Yes); Edna Green (No); Stan Hovland (Yes); Bobby Holmes (Yes); Jim Horner (Yes); Joe Huntsman (Yes); Peggy Howe (Yes); Robbie Long (Yes); Mike Reed (Yes); Mike Richardson (Yes); Kyle Walker (Yes). Outcome: motion passed.

Next steps: The lease will be reviewed by the finance committee (item 8d) before a final county decision. The district and county staff said they will supply contract language, final bid numbers, a safety/evacuation plan for the modulars and any required budget adjustments at that committee meeting.

Speakers at the discussion included Jared Ladd (staff member), Chairman Bobby Hahn, Commissioner Peggy Howe and Commissioner Joe Huntsman. The commission did not approve the lease itself at the Feb. 20 meeting; it only added the lease proposal to the finance committee calendar for further review.