Fayette

County School District officials will usher in

the new year with their fingers crossed that all

their Y2K preparations will see them through the

first week of the New Year.

Barring

the loss of water, gas or electrical power,

school will start back Wednesday, Jan 5. Teacher

work days are scheduled for the third and fourth.

"We

don't anticipate any interruptions of service.

We've really thought this thing through,"

said Ed Steil, technology director for the school

district. Even consultants from CSC, a

corporation hired by the school board to assist

in evaluating the district's contingency plan,

said school officials did a very thorough job.

School

superintendent Dr. John DeCotis said during a

recent meeting that school personnel have checked

"everything we could think of" that

could possibly be affected by Y2K, from student

data and payroll procedures to elevators and

alarm systems. "We've been proactive like

everybody else. We've made corrections and

prepared for Y2K. We feel like we'll be prepared.

At the end of December, we'll look at where we

are. We may have some minor issues, but we're

pretty comfortable with where we stand."

Plans

to offset any interruption of services, or loss

of any vital data, began in April 1998 when staff

scrutinized significant pieces of software that

drive school operations. In August 1998, the

state Department of Education issued guidelines

for school districts to meet the year 2000. A

school task force was formed, and the process of

analyzing, testing and remediation began. The

result was a revised emergency plan and business

continuance plan.

In

the event of any Y2K glitches, the contingency

plan will be put into effect. It covers a wide

range of possibilities from handling daily

business to dealing with outside vendors.

Certified letters were mailed to every vendor

serving the school district, according to

DeCotis, requesting a response on how they would

handle fallout from Y2K.

"A

lot of vendors were advised by their attorneys

not to reply," DeCotis said. "The three

mission-critical areas are electricity, water,

gas," Steil said. "We need water for

sanitation and food service, the gas for heat

and, of course, electricity. If we lose

electricity, water or gas, we'll make provisions

for how it will be replaced."

One

of the first areas Steil upgraded was software in

the finance and human resources departments. With

state money totalling about $15,400, Steil was

able to "Y2K-proof" the payroll and

payment to vendors.

Next,

he standardized software in the schools' media

centers, using a vendor that provided Y2K

software. "Media centers are our first line

of information," Steil said. Finally in

August 1998, the computers used in the

administrative offices and in the schools for

student records were upgraded and made Y2K

compliant. "The state funded 45 new

machines," Steil added. Total cost about

$56,000.

Steil

said students' schedules and teachers' class

rosters will be done in advance of the start of

the second semester Jan. 5. The first two days of

school, Monday and Tuesday, are teacher work

days. "This was scheduled at least a year

ago," Steil said, dispelling the idea that

the extra days were a Y2K precaution.

Steil

said he would check on the school district's

computer system New Year's Day along with four

employees. He's not worried about computer

failure, rather, "I'm more fearful of

viruses - we're getting maybe three a

week," he said.

The

nerve center of the district's technology

operations is the old vocational/technical

building behind the LaFayette Education Center.

Servers for the schools, special education,

community education and others are housed in a

large, high-ceilinged room with no windows and

stone fire walls. "It protects the computers

from the elements," Steil explained.

Manning

the center is a staff of about six, which

includes Constance Franklin, systems analyst and

programmer; Lee Bailey, web master, and several

technicians who work in the field.

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