The

political action committee that spearheaded the

push for a special local option sales tax for

school improvements in September will continue as

a communications committee, acting as a link

between citizens, the school superintendent,

school board and staff.

The

group, known as Fayette Citizens for Continued

Excellence in Education, will no longer act as a

Pac, but as a citizens committee. It will be

chaired by Janet Smola of Tyrone and will have

six to 10 members from various parts of the

county with the intent of responding to questions

from the general public concerning academics,

operations and facilities.

Smola

said Monday night that she continues to receive

numerous phone calls, despite the fact that the

sales tax initiative failed last month. During

the time the committee worked for the SPLOST,

Smola said, "We established a wonderful

working relationship with the superintendent and

department heads."

Smola

said in a mission statement read before the board

Monday night that the committee will "serve

as conduit between the citizens of Fayette County

and the superintendent of Fayette County Schools

and the members of the Board of Education... Our

purpose is to cultivate a cohesive working

relationship between those serving and receiving

services from our school system."

The

committee is still seeking representatives from

Woolsey and Brooks to serve. Committee members

include Don Apking, vice chairman, Fayetteville;

Connie Leary, secretary, Peachtree City; Katie

Fisher, Peachtree City; Virgil Fludd,

Fayetteville north; Dean Howard, Fayetteville

central; Joe Palmer, Fayetteville south; and Mike

Neill, Fayetteville east.

Members

of the committee were thanked Monday night by

superintendent Dr. John DeCotis and the board for

their work on the SPLOST proposal. The initiative

failed by a margin of approximately 400 votes and

that fact has led Smola to file a complaint with

the state Ethics Commission against Carl Avrit of

Fayetteville, who reportedly led a telephone

campaign against the tax. The recorded telephone

messages contained inaccurate information, Smola

charged, and SPLOST supporters believe the calls

could have tipped the balance against the

referendum.

Smola

said the complaint will be heard by the Ethics

Commission Nov. 8 at 10 a.m. at the state

Capitol. She declined to discuss details of the

complaint, saying that if the complaint is

dismissed, she did not wish to tarnish a man's

reputation, referring to Avrit.

second complaint also will be heard the same day.

This one was lodged against the Board of

Education by Claude Paquin. It states that the

board indirectly contributed to the Fayette

Citizens for Continued Excellence in Education by

allowing a representative from A.G. Edwards, one

of the firms engaged to handle bond sales in

conjunction with the sales tax, to act as an

advisor to the group.

If

the SPLOST had passed, Edwards would have

benefitted financially from the sale of bonds.