We'll

give you a $1,000 signing bonus if you'll teach

math, science or special education in Fayette

schools, the Fayette County Board of Education

said Monday night.

The

board approved a proposal for a onetime signing

bonus of $1,000 for 20 new teachers, to be

incorporated into the fiscal year 200l budget now

being drafted. There are seven other initiatives

with no cost attached, explained Judy Byrd, human

resources director for the school district.

The

bonuses, according to Byrd, are intended to

attract teachers into areas of critical need,

specifically special education, math and science,

particularly at the middle school level.

Board

member Greg Powers had reservations about the

proposal, citing the need for a timetable or the

necessity to have some strings attached.

He

worried that teachers would be hired, get a bonus

and say, for instance, "I don't like the

color of my classroom" and leave, Powers

said.

Superintendent

John DeCotis said the board could pursue

"something legal" to keep teachers for

a full year, but was unsure how it would affect

the standard contract. DeCotis noted that fewer

students are graduating from Georgia colleges

with teaching degrees, forcing Fayette County and

other counties to seek qualified teachers from

outside the state.

Seeking

the best and brightest teachers is a challenge,

according to educators, especially if the

governor's education plan requiring lower

pupil-teacher ratios is passed in the

legislature. Competition among metro Atlanta

counties is growing, with Cobb County recently

announcing its plan to award signing bonuses and

other perks to attract teachers.

George

Davis, president of the Fayette County

Association of Educators and a J.C. Booth Middle

School teacher, asked the board to consider

proposals for retaining teachers and enhancing

their salaries. His four-point plan included

recommendations to maintain small class sizes,

even in classrooms not mandated to a low

student-teacher ratio by Gov. Roy Barnes'

education plan; give new employees credit for

past experience; add three steps to the local pay

supplement schedule and increase local pay

supplement percentages by 2 percent, raising them

to the previous rate of 13 percent.

The

board got off to a late start Monday night

following a one-hour executive session which ran

from 7:45 p.m. until 8:45 p.m.

Chairman

Debbie Condon apologized to the crowd of

students, school staff and citizens packed into

the board room, explaining that the closed door

meeting was with the school board attorneys,

Harben and Hartley of Gainesville. The session

was placed high on the agenda and preceded any

items requiring action by the board.

In

other business, the board was briefed on the

school system's emergency crisis procedures by

Wayne Robinson, director of secondary school

operations and coordinator of the crisis plan.

The four-part, state-mandated plan includes

prevention through programs and support offered

identification badges; central office crisis

team; and coordination with local law enforcement

and emergency fire and medical personnel.

Robinson

said the county's plan will be presented for

state approval within the next two weeks. The

plan is packaged in a guidebook, flip chart and

digital pictures and schematic drawings of every

school in the system. This will allow school and

emergency personnel instant access to crucial

information in a crisis.

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