Do

some Fayette County schools have "better

stuff" than others? Yes, and that needs to

change, asserts a report given Monday night to

the Fayette County Board of Education.

After

evaluating all of the county's school facilities,

a committee recommended the school system adopt

standards to provide equality of facilities for

all students in Fayette County. No price tag was

attached.

If

the committee's recommendations are followed,

parents and students could see new field houses

at McIntosh High School, Sandy Creek High School

and Starr's Mill High School, along with a new

gym at McIntosh. Other recommendations included a

track and stadium renovation at Fayette County

High School and an auditorium at the Jenkins Road

complex.

The

proposals are not included in the current

discussions about a $91 million package of new

taxes expected to go before voters later this

year.

The

Facilities Equity Committee was created by the

Fayette County Board of Education to give the

board a handle on the state of the school

facilities throughout the county.

After

visiting each of the schools, the committee

compiled a 20-page report outlining some of the

group's concerns.

Committee

member Donald Apking told board members Monday

night that the committee had four major areas of

concern.

Specifically,

the committee wants to see certain questions

answered and standards established for technology

throughout the school system.

"How

many computers per classroom? What kind of

software should we get?" Apking asked.

Once

a standard is established, Apking said, new

computer purchases should be leased, instead of

purchased.

Apking

said the board also needs to look at updating the

public address and telephone system in many of

the schools.

The

second area the committee wants addressed is

security. The committee made recommendations for

each facility and urged the board to address the

security issue quickly.

Another

area of concern to the committee was the

landscaping at the schools. The group recommended

that all landscape maintenance be subcontracted

to keep the existing facilities in a presentable

condition.

The

final area of concern is the lack of storage at

the schools. In order to free space at the

schools, the committee recommended a central book

depository for books so that each school can draw

from the depository when the books are needed.

In

its final conclusions, the committee also asked

the board to pursue alternative financing to help

meet the needs of the growing system.

"It

is imperative that local participation -

Peachtree City, Tyrone, Brooks and Fayetteville

- is increased or initiated for schools in

their domain,' the report concluded.

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