School coalition sets town hall meeting on bonds

School coalition

sets town hall meeting on bonds

The Community

Coalition for Fayette Schools will host a town hall meeting on a proposed

bond referendum for school construction at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 23 at

the Sams Auditorium in Fayetteville.

The referendum

is included on the Nov. 7 General Election ballot. Members of the coalition

are working to inform the public how the bond program would address a

pressing need to build additional schools to resolve overcrowding in the

community's classrooms.

Sam Burch,

co-chairman of the Community Coalition for Fayette Schools, said the town

hall meeting is intended to give citizens an opportunity to ask any questions

they may have about the proposed construction program, and the related

bond referendum.

Several school

officials also will be on hand to discuss the program and answer questions

from the audience, including schools Superintendent Dr. John DeCotis;

Mike Satterfield, director of facilities services, and Jim Stephens, director

of finance for the Fayette County School System.

"This

is a vital issue for our community, and we hope citizens who may want

to know more about the schools' construction program or the bond referendum

will take this opportunity to come and ask questions," said Trina

Berry, co-chairman of the coalition. The proposed 10-year general obligation

bond program would fund construction of three new elementary schools,

a high school and upgrades and rewiring at several older schools.

Most schools

in the Fayette system are overcrowded, with more than 100 portables absorbing

overflow from the classrooms. The Fayette Board of Education structured

the financing and construction programs in response to community input,

including a survey of more than 5,000 residents.

The construction

plan focuses on classrooms and instructional priorities, rather than amenities

that respondents felt should be non-priority items, said Burch. Homeowners

qualified for a homestead exemption for the elderly on school property

taxes would also be exempt from the proposed bond tax.

Additionally,

the bond tax can be an itemized deduction on income taxes.

Members of

the coalition include parents, retirees, community activists, businessmen

and businesswomen, as well as several members of a citizens' group that

studied the school system's facilities needs during the past year.

The group welcomes

participation and assistance, said Burch. To join the coalition or for

information, phone Burch at 770-461-5484 or 770-461-7380; or Berry at

770-461-1973.

Civic clubs

or other groups that would like to schedule a speaker from the coalition

can phone 770-632-9260.

Information

about the bond referendum and the five-year facilities plan is available

at the Fayette County Board of Education's web site: www.fcboe.org .