Is the five-member

school board large enough to oversee Fayette's growing student population?

That's a question

on the minds of many local residents, according to one Board of Education

member.

Recent updated

population figures from the U.S. Census, and the redistricting that inevitably

follows, have motivated a number of people to ask about possible board

restructuring, according to board member Janet Smola.

But she emphasizes

that she plans to simply gather information and does not in any way assume

that any action would be taken on the issue for quite some time.

Fayette's overall

population has increased about 30,000 over the past ten years a jump of

approximately 50 percent. The population of the school system has seen

a similar growth pattern, from 12,569 students in 1990 to about 19,800

now.

Smola has received

calls from constituents for a couple of months now, she said, starting

with the release of census estimates earlier this year and continuing

as media coverage of the census has increased.

She has also

talked to state Rep. Kathy Cox, who is playing a key role in upcoming

legislative sessions regarding reapportionment. Those sessions are expected

to be held in August.

"I do

believe it warrants examination," said Smola, who brought up the

subject at last week's school board meeting, inviting board members and

others to provide Cox with whatever questions or input they thought relevant.

"I promised my constituents I would look into it."

Smola is the

school board's legislative liaison. Cox, a former full-time teacher at

Sandy Creek who now teaches part-time at McIntosh, spends much of her

legislative time working on education-related issues.

One of the

first things that will be looked at is the process for making such a change

in the board, which Smola said she is not sure of right now. One thing

that is certain is reapportionment, which will happen on the county level

after the new state districts are adjusted to reflect the latest census

totals.

"Reapportionment

will happen anyway because of the census," said Smola. "The

school board has absolutely no control over that."

As for changes

in the makeup of the board, that would likely take a vote of that body

as well as action by the state legislature, she added. Because of that,

any action would take a couple of years, at least.

"I have

no intention of rushing into this," she said. "I am fully aware

that I am a single vote of a five-member board, but when I am asked by

a constituent to investigate an issue, I plan to investigate it. This

is important because it could dictate how the board works for the next

10 years."

Smola did offer

that she personally favors an increase in the size of the board.

"I believe

when you have a change in population and demographics, you have to examine

whether your constituents are being served properly," she said. "I

do believe the population has grown enough for us to consider this."

If that were

to happen, Smola said she would like to see a couple of nonpartisan seats

added, perhaps making them at-large seats in addition to the five districts

that now exist.

"Those

are simply my opinions," she said. "I have not asked the opinion

of every other board member."

After her comments

at last week's board meeting, Chairman Mickey Littlefield asked superintendent

Dr. John DeCotis to check surrounding districts and see how their enrollment

totals and board sizes stack up. Smola said she believes Fayette has one

of the smallest school boards in the state.

After some

investigation, the issue will likely be brought up after the state reapportionment

sessions not before September, Smola said.

But with the

strong possibility that Fayette's legislative representation could increase

after reapportionment, it makes sense that changes on the county level

could be a good idea, she added.