Heads

are still being counted in Fayette County's 26

public schools following the opening of the

2001-2002 school year Monday. But one thing is

certain: More classroom space is needed, with

almost every school at or exceeding its capacity

level, according to School Superintendent Dr.

John DeCotis.

board of education work session Monday night

focused on the increasing need for additional

classroom space. DeCotis and members of the

board-appointed facilities advisory committee

highlighted the results of last Tuesday's meeting

where the group weighed various options for

handling overcrowding.

The

preliminary recommendation was for a special

local option sales tax (SPLOST) to be placed on

the ballot in the Nov. 7 general election with

redistricting to begin in the most overcrowded

schools next school year.

The

facilities advisory committee is a 28-member body

composed of community leaders, school

administrators and parent activists whose goal is

to make recommendations to the board for

consideration on how to best handle growth in the

school system.

The

group will meet again tonight at 7 p.m. to

bolster its recommendation with facts and figures

for presentation to the board next Monday night

at 7:30 p.m. during its regularly scheduled

voting session.

decision, if any, to place some type of funding

referendum on the ballot must come by the end of

the month, DeCotis said, in order to meet the

election time frame.

Voters

have turned down a SPLOST twice, but the margin

of loss was narrowed to a mere 1.6 percent last

September, noted SPLOST activist and school board

member-elect Janet Smola. "We do not want to

place a funding initiative before the board that

will not pass," she said. Smola believes the

last initiative failed because of controversial

items included, such as athletic facilities and

technology. The current proposal under

consideration would be a "bare bones, bricks

and mortar" approach.

"There's

been a lot of focus on one option or the

other," said board member Mickey

Littlefield, referring to the SPLOST versus bond

debate. "As long as we achieve the goal of

the board... this is the issue. The issue is we

need new facilities."

School

Board Chairman Debbie Condon vented her

frustrations over recent "campaign

rhetoric" and public criticisms of the

current board over financing and the last round

of school construction. Condon did not seek

reelection this year, nor did fellow board member

Woody Shelnutt. Connie Hale was defeated last

week in her bid for reelection by former board

member and teacher Marion Key.

Hale

questioned aloud whether the sitting board even

wanted to vote on a referendum. "I don't

want to tie the hands of the new board," she

said. "It's a decision that they need to

make."

Smola

said she appreciated Hale's sensitivity, but

asked that the board go ahead with a decision,

"absolving you of all guilt ... We've looked

at this for 100 hours and there is nothing that

is not absolutely necessary yesterday."

Condon

said, "I'll stick my neck out... I truly

believe if we get the message out, people will

understand," referring to the need for a

vote on a bond or SPLOST to remedy the growing

school population problem.

Overcrowding

is significant, especially at Fayette County High

School, which welcomed a freshman class of

approximately 700 students this week. The

3-year-old facility was designed to hold 1,800

students and currently has 2,105 students on the

rolls. With 100 new students added per year, Mike

Satterfield, the school district's facilities

director, predicted the enrollment could peak at

2,500 in four years, "unless some type of

redistricting goes on."

Sandy

Creek High School is about 300 students under

capacity, and could begin accepting students next

school year if district lines are redrawn for the

high schools and middle schools to relieve

overcrowding, Satterfield said.

During

last week's advisory committee meeting, Stuart

Bennett, the school district's superintendent for

curriculum and instruction, outlined some of the

alternatives to dealing with maxed-out

facilities. He emphasized the need to maintain

academic standards whatever course of short-term

action was elected. Alternatives such as double

sessions and the trimester system, which requires

students to attend two semesters out of three

year-round semesters, were deemed the least

acceptable options among the committee members.

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