Six jobs in

the Coweta County School System's central office are

being slashed and that may only be the beginning as

school budget discussion continues.

The system

is cutting the jobs as a result of Gov. Roy Barnes' A

Plus Education Reform Act of 2000.

"The

governor wants more emphasis put on the individual

schools and that's what we intend to do,"

Superintendent of Schools Bob Brooks said.

The system

also plans to transfer an undetermined number of people

in the central office back into the schools, Brooks

added.

Several

systems are grappling with funding issues under the

Education Reform Act and many systems are contemplating

cutting a number of their para-professionals. But so far,

Coweta's para-pros are safe.

"We're

probably going to have to reevaluate this in the summer

and see if all the figures turn out like we hope,"

the superintendent said.

This year's

budget is estimated at $135 million, which is up nearly

20 percent over last year's $113 million budget.

The reason?

More construction and more teachers to meet the needs of

Coweta's ever-expanding population.

"We're

going to have several new teachers this year, along with

construction costs stemming from building a new

elementary school," Brooks said.

All system

employees will receive a 3 percent pay raise and Brooks

said the difficulty in this year's budget process has

been waiting for final passage of the Education Reform

Act to see how local systems would fare.

"That's

why we're so late in doing the budget this year," he

explained.

The board

is required to approve a new budget by June 30, but

Brooks expects passage at the June 13 board meeting.