Update from press conference:
According to Charles Stacy and Travis Hackworth of the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors, tuition free college funding will continue for Tazewell County 2019 and 2020 high school graduates through the summer and fall semesters of 2020.
Beyond the fall 2020 semester, the Board is evaluating options and may add additional eligibility criteria for students to qualify for the funding.
Original Post:
We have been in communication with the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors concerning the possible elimination of the tuition funding for 2020 high school graduates.
The Board is diligently looking at ways to continue this funding for the 2020 High School Seniors and have a scheduled press conference with College President Tommy Wright today at 3:30pm on the campus of Southwest.
The college has agreed to grant an extension for all tuition owed for affected students for a period of 6 months in order to give the county time to work through this issue.
Affected students will not be dropped from classes on June 8 due to this issue, and we will be reaching out to all affected students individually as soon as we have clarification on the funding model.
The county budget is set to be finalized after the vote on June 25.
This page will be updated as new information becomes available.