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Johnson City Schools Foundation donates $60,000 digital STAR Lab to district; board accepts MOU
Summary
The Johnson City Public School Foundation raised $60,000 to buy a digital STAR Lab, delivered to Liberty Bell Middle School on June 27, 2025. The Board of Education voted to accept the donation and a memorandum of understanding with the foundation.
The Johnson City Board of Education accepted a donation of a digital STAR Lab purchased by the Johnson City Public School Foundation and authorized a memorandum of understanding with the foundation.
Timber Aldridge, president of the Johnson City Public School Foundation, told the board the foundation set an ambitious fundraising goal of $60,000 to purchase a new digital STAR Lab and reached that goal. "We reached our goal of $60,000, and a new STAR Lab was purchased on 06/27/2025," Aldridge said, and said the lab was delivered to Liberty Bell Middle School earlier in the week.
The board considered and approved a motion to accept the donation and the MOU. A board member moved to accept the donation and the MOU; a second was made and the motion passed by voice vote.
Aldridge described the STAR Lab as an instructional resource designed to give students immersive astronomy and STEM experiences. She credited major donors including Eastman Credit Union, the Jeff Bedard Foundation and WJHL and noted the foundation planned a public unveiling at Liberty Bell Middle School on Oct. 2, with an invitation to board members and district staff.
Board members briefly discussed the mechanics of accepting the gift and the memorandum of understanding; the board president called for the motion and the vote. The MOU was not read into the minutes because of its length, but board members voted to accept it and the donation.
The foundation also described recent scholarship and grant work: the foundation awards scholarships and teacher grants, and it reported awarding 28 teacher grants in October 2024 and multiple scholarships in May 2025. Aldridge said the foundation has taken responsibility for some endowment management and highlighted that one East Tennessee Foundation account generated $8,200 in interest this year to fund engineering scholarships for Science Hill High School students.
The donation acceptance was recorded as a formal board action; the MOU and the foundation's gift will be administered according to the agreed memorandum.
A copy of the foundation's report and photos of the STAR Lab were included in the board packet.
