Stillions'

new position takes effect Jan. 1. The board made the move during a called

session last week.

Stillions has

been employed with the school system for six years where he was hired

as an assistant principal and athletic director at McIntosh High. He was

named principal of the school in 1999.

Stillions has

a total of 20 years of experience covering the entire spectrum of public

secondary education. He holds a bachelor's degree in physical education

from Purdue University, a master's degree in health and physical education

from the State University of West Georgia and a specialist degree in administration

from the State University of West Georgia.

Stillions says

he is excited to have the opportunity and challenge of opening the new

school and looks forward to working with the faculty, students and parents

to create a premier high school.

"I want

to create a model school for Fayette County and the state through innovative

strategies and new deliveries of instruction. It's going to be a lot of

work to get a new school up and running but opportunities like this don't

come along often," he said.

Stillions knows

first-hand what goes into opening a new school. As a head teacher at Mount

Zion High in Clayton County he helped to open that facility in 1989.

Although construction

of the Whitewater High facility will not be finished until the 2004-2005

academic year, the new school is slated to open at the beginning of the

2003-2004 scholastic year at the LaFayette Educational Center. The decision

to open the school one year early was approved in August by the Board

of Education in order to relieve overcrowding at Fayette County High and

to allow rising ninth graders bound for the new school the option of starting

their high school years at Whitewater.