The Fayette County school

system may hire private investigators to ferret

out students illegally attending classes here,

paying the P.I.s only if they produce.

"Sounds like a bounty

hunter to me," said Connie Hale, a member of

the Fayette County Board of Education.

"That's exactly

right," said another board member, Mickey

Littlefield. "This is a pet project of mine.

It's a big problem. These [illegally attending]

kids, I believe, cause a disproportionate amount

of trouble."

Littlefield said every

student who lives outside the county but attends

school here costs the system $5,000 a year, money

he said should go toward Fayette kids.

"[The private

detective] would be paid only if he catches

people," Littlefield said. "There's no

money to lose, and $5,000 per student to gain. We

need to let people know that we are going to

enforce [our residency requirements] and

prosecute [violators]."

Superintendent John DeCotis

said his staff is exploring the private detective

option. The board took no action on Littlefield's

proposal.

In a related matter, the

board adopted a revised policy to deal with

homeless children attending school in Fayette.

Under the change, children who have no regular

nighttime sleeping address may still attend

classes, provided the child meets the homeless

standard set by federal and state guidelines.

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