LAST UPDATE: Mark Ireson resigns Sullivan County school board seat

BLOUNTVILLE — Mark Ireson has resigned his District 1 Sullivan County Board of Education seat, resulting in the ending of a legal challenge to him holding two elected county offices.The lawsuit against Ireson, alleging that he couldn't legally be a school board member and county commissioner at the same time, was dismissed by a judge last week. The suit had sought Ireson's removal from the school board."I, Mark Anthony Ireson, do hereby resign as a member of the Sullivan County Board of Education, District one (1) effective January 16, 2024," according to a letter dated Jan. 12."As I had previously announced that I would not be running for reelection, I do think it is time to step away from the Board of Education position to focus solely on my duties as a Sullivan County Commissioner for District 8," Ireson said in a written statement Monday evening."Moving forward, I intend to continue my vigorous support of K-12 education while also working on other pressing concerns, including careful management of public finances, expansion of private sector job opportunities wherever possible and working to achieve quality of life improvements for all the citizens of Sullivan County."The resignation letter has a stamp from Sullivan County Clerk Teresa Jacobs on it and bears Ireson's signature. Jacobs notified the County Commission of his resignation in a email Thursday, Jan. 18.Chancellor Katie Priester signed the order of dismissal at noon Friday. District Attorney General Barry Staubus prepared the order with the knowledge of Joe McMurray, Ireson's attorney and a also a county commissioner.The Ireson trial initially was set for Dec. 13, but was reset until Jan. 17.IRESON SAYS 'IT WAS TIME'Ireson early on Monday afternoon said he would have the written statement later in the day, but when asked why he resigned when he did, he said. "I just thought it was time."The lawsuit, a rare non-criminal action by prosecutors, was State of Tennessee vs. Mark A. Ireson and had been scheduled to be heard last Wednesday, Jan. 17, before Priester in Bristol, Tennessee.Court was canceled that day because of winter weather. Sullivan County District Attorney General Barry Staubus filed a motion on Jan. 16 for dismissal with the court, citing a Jan. 12, resignation letter Staubus received.Ireson said he sent the resignation Jan. 12 because a long holiday weekend was coming up and he wanted to be sure it was seen before the Jan. 17 hearing.Priester signed the dismissal noon Jan. 19.SUIT ISSUEAt issue was whether Tennessee Code Annotated allowed Ireson to legally finish out the remaining term of his school board seat after winning a commission seat in the 2022 election.Ireson did not file for reelection to the school board and acknowledged in the response to the lawsuit that would not be legal.However, Ireson maintained he was told by the Sullivan County Election Commission officials and the Tennessee Division of Elections he could continue on the school board until the results of the August 2024 school board election lead to a new school board member being sworn in around Sept. 1.However, Staubus disagreed and in June filed the lawsuit against Ireson, seeking Ireson's removal from the school board per the instruction of Gov. Bill Lee and Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skermetti. At issue would have been the intent of lawmakers.Staubus said the General Assembly could take up the matter and clarify the law, something that Coordinator of Elections Jason Booher said would settle the matter statewide.Sullivan County school board member Michael Hughes publicly brought up the matter last year during a school board meeting in March.NOT USING PUBLIC DEFENSE FUNDSIreson said he did not and will not bill the county for any of his defense costs, although he would be eligible to use up to $25,000 in county money to cover legal fees for defending a lawsuit against commissioners. The commission approved that money in July, the month after Staubus filed suit against Ireson.The first $25,000 per commissioner does not require a commission vote.Larry Bailey, finance officer for the county, has confirmed that so far Ireson nor any other commission had used any of the $25,000, which could grow to more with a vote of the commission on each individual matter."I just didn't want to do that, so I took care of my own defense," Ireson said. "I didn't use a penny of that at all."WHAT'S NEXTAccording to county Coordinator of Elections Jason Booher, the commission under Tennessee law has a maximum of 120 days to appoint an interim replacement until the person elected Aug. 1 takes office at the first of September."They could wait until after the primary but they could not wait until August," Booher said.That would be after the March 5 Republican primary between Carrie Carpenter and Angie Stanley, the only two filed candidates for the post.Since no other candidates filed and the deadline for a Republican write-in candidate has passed, the only way the winner of the GOP primary between Stanley and Carpenter would not go on to win the seat in the general election is if a write-in independent candidate notified county election officials he or she was running by Wednesday, June 12, and out-polled the GOP winner.County Mayor Richard Venable said commission options include a called commission meeting to choose a board replacement, doing so at the regular February meeting or doing so after the March primary.PARTING STATEMENT"In my time on the Sullivan County Board of Education, we have worked hard to prioritize classroom instruction and provide the best possible K-12 experience within the resources available. I believe over the last few years as a Board, working together, we have made great strides toward that benchmark," Ireson said in his written statement Monday."As I move forward, I'd like to thank my fellow Board of Education and County Commission members, Sullivan County teachers and staff and candidates for the office who are offering their talents for consideration by voters," he wrote. "None of these roles are easy and all of them require an extraordinary commitment of time and resolve to be effective. As citizens of Sullivan County, we should all express appreciation for their efforts."SCHOOL BOARD ACTION REQUIRED?School board members Randall Jones and Hughes, former chairman and vice chairman, said the board as a formality may have a vote to accept Ireson's resignation.However, Booher said he was unaware of any legal requirement for such a vote, although it could be parliamentary procedure for the school board. And Jones said the last resignation, when Randall Gilmore resigned Oct. 7, 2021, because he moved out of his district, did not result in a board vote.