The Coweta

Board of Education gave final approval Tuesday night to a

$113 million budget for fiscal 2000.

The budget

is the school system's largest ever and is an 8 percent

increase over last year's budget.

The

increase stems from the county's explosive growth rate

and school officials are expecting more than 700

additional students when the school bell clangs in

August.

One of the

biggest factors in the increase in this year's budget,

along with the growth, is a 4 percent raise for the

system's teachers and classified personnel.

The system

also is hiring extra teachers to lower the pupil-teacher

ratio in second grade from 23-1 to 20-1.

Last year,

the system lowered the rate to 20-1 for first graders and

board member Bill Covington has suggested lowering the

rate for all elementary school classrooms.

But in

order to do that, the school system would probably have

to increase taxes, which has caused a great deal of

discussion throughout the county.

Superintendent

of education Richard Brooks said the board is still

considering the proposal and is seeking input from the

community.

"That's

not a part of this year's budget. In fact, this budget

lowered the millage rate by a quarter of a mill," he

said.

The

lowering of the millage rate, according to Brooks, is

because the school system received increased revenue from

the special local option sales tax program that was

approved by voters.

"I

don't know what we would have done without SPLOST,"

he said.

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