Janet

Smola, candidate for Post 1 on the Fayette County

Board of Education, faces no opposition in her

bid, but that hasn't diminished her efforts to

stay informed about the issues.

She

will take over from Debbie Condon, who announced

she will not seek another term.

As

cochairman of the Fayette County Citizens for

Excellence in Education, a group that formed last

summer to disseminate information about a

proposed 1 percent special local option sales tax

that was defeated by voters in a September

referendum, Smola will continue to act as liaison

between citizens and the board until a successor

can be found.

"Right

now we're going through House Bill 1187 and the

budget process for the school system. In all

honesty, when I look at House Bill 1187 and upon

completion of the advisory councils the governor

has assigned to each and every school, there

should be no need for the FCCEE," Smola

said. Until the advisory councils are phased in

over three years, according to the governor's

directive, the FCCEE will continue, she said.

"My

greatest concern about the advisory councils is

uniformity, a universal approach to each school

individually. If you don't have that, it's very

likely that you'll have (for example) Starr's

Mill managed very differently than Sandy Creek.

The creation of these councils is going to have

to have a common denominator in order to keep the

school system on an even keel," Smola said.

Smola

said she has always been an active participant in

the goings-on in the schools system. "...

only because I have three children and I have

strong opinions about things and always feel that

you have your right to voice your opinion... but

the prudent thing is to have all the information

surrounding a subject before you voice your

opinion."

When

the decision was made by the school board to try

and finance new facilities and expansion of

existing facilities through a special local

option sales tax, Smola said she wanted to know

why they came to that decision rather than taking

the traditional bond route. "I wanted to see

the budget. I had heard all kinds of things,

people throwing around words like

misappropriation of funds and

mismanagement."

She

has a working knowledge of financial issues,

having been a licensed securities dealer and

insurance agent.

"When

I looked at that funding issue, I could

understand why that board made the decision that

they did. To fund those facilities through bonds

would have cost the school system more money, a

lot more money," she said. Smola is still in

favor of a SPLOST.

"I

will do everything in my power to influence this

board to put a finance funding opportunity on the

ballot. The only way you're going to get a fair

vote in terms of the numbers of people, is to put

it in a general election.

"The

facilities issues are not going away," she

added. "They are increasing in severity. If

Peachtree City annexes the property [a 1,200-acre

proposed west village), it's going to grow in

leaps and bounds, and it's going to be an issue

the school board is going to have to deal

with," she added.

Smola

sees the key issue facing the upcoming board as

complying with the Education Reform Act. "We

have to comply with what the governor has set

forth... there are lots of things the governor is

looking at and one of those things is the fact

that Fayette County has twice denied funding to

the children here... now if in the future the

governor decides to help with facilities issues,

which counties do you think are going to get the

help? The ones that are helping themselves and

still need help, or the ones who haven't helped

themselves and are looking for a handout?"

Smola

said she is concerned about the school district

maintaining its high level of student performance

given the change in funding from the state, for

instance, taking away funding for nonscientific

labs. "I see some shifting of expenditures

and that's definitely going to be an issue for

the school board."

Despite

serving as cochairman with Don Apking for the

FCCEE, Smola said she would not vocally endorse

any one candidate for posts 2 and 3. "I have

to remind myself that whatever I do is going to

have an impact on my position on the school

board. Regardless of who is elected, I will serve

with two people in two seats and I don't know who

is going to sit there."

Smola

said she didn't want to create hard feelings or

set herself up in an adversarial position before

she even took office. "But I have made it

clear that I will come out and support those

candidates that are well versed on the

issues," she added.

Another

goal Smola has set for herself is to "reopen

the lines of communication within the governing

board [school board]."

"The

best way to do that is by example." Smola

said, adding that if you disagree with a board

member, put the issue behind you and move on.

She

also advocates making decision that are in the

best interests of the students in the county and

not what the voters necessarily want to hear.

Smola gave the example of the current board

turning down a recommendation by superintendent

Dr. John DeCotis to raise the millage rate to 20

mills, simply because the voters had just turned

down the SPLOST.

Smola

is known in the community as a professional

fund-raiser. For approximately five years she

worked to raise money for the Joseph Sams School.

She is now free-lancing as a fund-raiser and

event planner for political hopefuls.

Smola

and her husband, Mike, a Delta employee, have

three children, Zachary, Andrew and Evan. The

Smolas live in Tyrone.

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