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Council reviews JET memorandums of understanding; city will not hold funds, council seeks more MOU detail
Summary
Council discussed memorandums of understanding for the Jonesboro Education Trust pilot with Truist Bank, Clayton County Public Schools and the Public Schools Foundation. Attorney Wiley said the bank and foundation will administer accounts; council members pressed for caps on administrative fees and named signatories in the MOUs.
Council members spent much of their meeting on the proposed memorandums of understanding to operationalize the Jonesboro Education Trust (JET), a program that aims to open savings accounts for students and pair those accounts with incentives.
Attorney Wiley told the council the MOUs follow the program framework the city approved previously and that the city will not hold or direct donations. "Truist will be the official financial partner and the bank will hold the funds," Wiley said, adding that funds "will be owned by the parents subject to the rules of the foundation and the bank." He said the city’s role is coordination, not money management.
Council members sought more specific language. Councilwoman Messick asked who would approve expenditures and asked for named signatory lines in the documents; she said the current drafts showed blank signature lines and asked that the packet list the specific contacts at Truist, Georgia Power and the school foundation. Councilwoman Fox asked whether parents who cannot open a bank account would be excluded; Wiley said the bank had indicated it could provide volunteer bankers and financial professionals to help families qualify.
Councilman Alfred Dixon, who shepherded the program framework, said the city intentionally declined to be the money custodian and that Truist is nonexclusive: "We did not make them the exclusive financial partner," Wiley said. Several council members said they wanted assurances that the majority of donated money would go to students rather than administrative costs; Wiley said administration costs are to be negotiated between the foundation and the bank and are not controlled by the city under the current model.
The council directed staff to refine the MOUs and bring the documents back next week with identified signatories, clearer language on oversight, and any proposed caps or limits on administrative fees. The city manager said staff will also confirm whether the JET Foundation will be included as a partner before the council’s next meeting.
Next steps: the council asked for updated MOUs and for staff to circulate the revised documents to council members before next week’s agenda.
