Fayette County school personnel

got some good news and some better news from the Board of Education Monday

night.

The good news: They'll get

paid this month.

The better news: The school

system will switch its employee benefits program to the popular Georgia

Merit System Employee Flexible Benefits Plan starting July 1 of next year.

As expected, the school system

is running low on cash and will have to borrow $8.5 million to meet this

month's payroll, comptroller James Stephens told the board Monday before

they approved a Tax Anticipation Note from Wachovia Bank at 1.3 percent

interest.

"That should be enough

to get us through the month and to December," he said, when the 90-day

note will be paid off with anticipated revenues from county property tax

collections. "If the tax bills go out later than we anticipated,

we may have to back and revisit it."

County property owners are

scheduled to receive tax bills on Oct. 1, with a deadline of Dec. 1. In

theory, said Stephens, the district should have plenty of cash rolling

in come Christmastime.

Board member Janet Smola asked

Stephens to explain why the school district doesn't borrow money from

itself, by dipping into bond money.

"By law we can't have

access to that for anything other than capital projects," he explained.

"And why can't we dip

into the reserves?" asked Smola.

"Our reserve fund is down

to about $2 million," Stephens replied, explaining that the account

was serving its purpose, paying the bills until revenue collections adjust

to normal levels.

A month ago, the reserve fund

stood at $12 million.

The scattering of teachers

and administrators at the Monday meeting cheered quietly when the board

okayed a switch in benefits packages to the Employee Flexible Benefits

Plan, a program offered through the Georgia Merit System.

Currently, the district offers

its employees an in-house benefits and insurance plan that has not been

held in high favor. By switching to the financially stable Georgia Merit

System, which many school districts tap into, Fayette County also avoided

having to pay a six-figure consulting fee to compare various plan components,

Superintendent John DeCotis said.

The change was approved 5-0.

Also Monday, DeCotis presented

for consideration a change in the district's policy on guidance and counseling.

Though the amendments to the

policy are minor, DeCotis did take the opportunity to explain, on the

record, that the state funds less than half of the counselor jobs in the

school system.

"And we pay for all the

elementary grade paraprofessionals above kindergarten," he pointed

out, emphasizing some of the extra "perks" funded locally.

The counseling policy will

be considered for approval at a later board meeting.

In other action Monday, the

board:

·Named Powers to be the

board's legislative liaison for 2004, the second year he's served in that

capacity. He'll attend a Dec. 15 meeting with the Georgia School Boards

Association at which local districts will be briefed on what to expect

from the state capitol next year.

·Approved a roster of

personnel changes that included the retirement of Lettie "Boots"

Ashworth as visiting teacher. Ashworth had worked in the school system

as a teacher and administrator since the early 1960s.

· Heard an update on construction

from project manager Klaus Darnell, who reported that the kitchen renovations

at East Fayette and Fayetteville elementary schools was nearing completion

and he hoped food inventory could be brought in next week. The faculty

parking area at Sandy Creek is being demolished to make way for a new

auditorium, and site work on the new McIntosh gym should begin any day.

All the concrete flooring has been poured at Whitewater High except for

the upper level of the gym.

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