The Fayette County School System

is making plans to establish a charter school, and local residents are

being encouraged to offer their input.

The Georgia Department of Education

has awarded a planning grant to the county, Superintendent John DeCotis

said Tuesday, about two years after the Board of Education decided to

apply. "It takes a while," he said.

Charter schools are often operated

board last fall, but it missed the annual deadline. However, it is not

unusual for public school systems to operate charter schools, DeCotis

said, citing Coweta County as a nearby example.

Plans call for the charter

school to be located at the LaFayette Educational Center near Fayette

County High School in Fayetteville. It would allow the school system to

offer some academic opportunities in a central location for students who

cannot get want they need at their particular school.

Some advanced placement classes,

for instance, might not be offered at individual schools because there

is not enough interest, but the interest would be there on a countywide

level, DeCotis said. Subjects such as Latin, for which it is often difficult

to find teachers, could be offered at a single central location in the

county and available to whomever wanted to take it.

Along with advanced college

preparatory courses, an expanded level of career-vocational programs would

also be offered, the superintendent said. The charter school is looking

to partner with both Griffin Technical College and Gordon College to bring

these programs and courses to Fayette.

These specialized programs

would also benefit the county's home-schooled students, DeCotis said,

who often have difficulty finding certain courses they wish to take.

Under the county's plan, the

charter school, evening high school, alternative school and community

school would all be consolidated in a central location, which would be

more efficient for school officials as well as students and parents, DeCotis

said.

The first barometer of eligibility

for the charter school would be the student's interest, according to DeCotis.

"You can't force them to go," he said. "They have to be

interested." Other guidelines for eligibility would be addressed

as the program progresses, he added.

The charter school would initially

be for high school students, but there is a possibility of adding middle

school programs down the road, DeCotis said, since the alternative school

already operates at the middle school level.

Funding for the school on a

yearly basis would be a combination of local and state money, just like

the school system is funded now, DeCotis said.

Due to the nature of the process,

the earliest the program could be fully implemented is the fall of 2004,

he said. The county's newest high school, Whitewater High, is slated to

occupy the LaFayette campus for the 2003-04 school year and then move

onto its own campus in the fall of 2004.

Parents seeking more information

or wanting to voice their opinions and suggestions are invited to visit

the school system's Web site, www.fcboe.org, and complete an online survey.

A detailed abstract outlining the mission and vision of the charter school

is also being posted with the survey.

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