Uncertainties about the 2005

budget continued to dominate Monday night's meeting of the Fayette County

Board of Education.

In giving the monthly financial

report, Finance Director James Stephens said it's becoming increasingly

clear that the struggle to maintain the level of service expected by Fayette's

residents from its schools versus the funding realities from the state

will be a difficult one in coming months.

"We're going to have

to make some changes in every area of our operation as well as hike up

the mileage rate again," Stephens warned of the upcoming budget process.

"But that's the price we have to pay to maintain the kind of school

system we like to have here."

Stephens is projecting a $7.3

million loss in operations revenue from the state in the coming fiscal

year, not counting a potential $5-$7 million in additional losses that

could come from cuts in transportation funding, fair-share funding or

new school school construction costs.

More concerns lie in the proposed

changes to the state's curriculum, and what the out-of-pocket costs

would be to the district. Superintendent John DeCotis said that new textbook

purchases and curriculum changes didn't necessarily coincide, but that

nobody was sure what would be required.

Frustrating Stephens is the

state's noncommittal attitude toward "mandates" such as

maximum classroom sizes. The problem is worse in smaller, rural districts

where tax money is scarce, said DeCotis.

He reported on a lawsuit brought

against the state by a group called the Consortium for Adequate School

Funding, which mainly involves a group of South Georgia districts. DeCotis

said Fayette County could join in the suit, but it was unclear what the

benefit would be. Such lawsuits have not historically been successful

nationwide, and besides, the cost to the district - at $1 per student

enrolled - would be more than $21,000.

Personnel director Judy Byrd

asked for and got the Board's approval for tentative staff allotments

for the 2004-05 school year, based on the projected enrollment and the

anticipated lowering of student-teacher ratio requirements by the state.

The Fayette County school board

committed to staying one step ahead of the state in classroom size. In

other words, if the state lowers the requirement by one, as expected,

the district will lower its maximum class size by one desk further.

"The number of new regular

education teaching positions and paraprofessionals required will be significantly

less if the current class sizes remain the same," Byrd told the board.

She is asking for 2.5 more

counselors and media specialists, 21 regular education teachers, six special

ed teachers, 10 parapros and three clerical workers.

Those numbers would be halved

if the state leaves classroom size requirements the same for next year

- a difference of $840,000 in salaries and benefits for Fayette schools.

"We would hope the state

would compensate for that," said Stephens.

Replied Byrd jokingly, "As

always, Mr. Stephens is being overly optimistic."

DeCotis said that according

to the state, "We're already receiving that money."

Board member Marion Key then

pointed out that the salaries of 250 local teachers are paid for entirely

on the local level.

With an additional grade added

at Whitewater High School next fall, 23 more teaching positions will be

created there. But many of those slots will be filled by transfer positions

from Fayette County High, Byrd said.

Board member Janet Smola wanted

the language of the resolution approving the new staffing hires to make

it clear that the positions were tentative, pending the final determination

from the state. "We don't want to hire a bunch of people and

then not have jobs for them," she said.

Byrd said that wasn't the intent,

but rather it would allow her staff to begin wading through the potential

new hires "while the applicant pool is still strong."

Board Chairman Terri Smith

called it "astonishing" how expensive it can be to adjust the

classroom sizes when ordered to do so by the state.

"Fayette County schools

have traditionally maintained lower classroom sizes, and I want to be

clear that we intend to continue to do so, but the state must help provide

the funding for that," said Smith.

The five Board of Education

members and key members of DeCotis' staff traveled to the state Capitol

Tuesday to meet with the local legislative delegation to address that

matter and other concerns.

DeCotis said their message

had two main points: "Give us the funding," he said, "or

give us some flexibility to spend the money you do give us in the ways

we think are best."

In other business Monday, the

board:

-�Approved the hiring

of Claude W. Campbell of the Clayton County school district, who resides

in Fayette County, for the new position of coordinator of safety/discipline/athletics,

based out of the LaFayette Educational Center. He replaces Harry Sweatman.

-�Recognized both Robert

J. Burch and North Fayette elementary schools as "2004 Title I Distinguished

Schools" for achieving five straight years of "Adequate Yearly

Progress."

-�Approved a low bid for

the purchase of metal lockers for Whitewater High School.

-�Approved a resolution

authorizing the sale as "surplus property" some 40.92 acres

on Lester Road originally considered for a high school; about 10 acres

were leased last year to the Fayette Family YMCA to a future indoor swimming

pool.

- Approved field trip

requests for J.C. Booth and Rising Starr middle schools, and Sandy Creek

high school.

-�Gave approval for one

employee each to attend the following overnight conferences: Association

of Supervision and Curriculum Development, March 18-22, New Orleans; National

Association of School Psychologists Annual Convention, March 30�April

2, Dallas; National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Annual Conference,

April 20-24, Philadelphia.

DeCotis said the staff development

budget had been trimmed back tremendously in the last year to limit the

number of overnight conferences, but that the system still felt it worthwhile

to send at least one person to key meetings to keep abreast of the latest

changes in curriculum.