By JOHN THOMPSON
Staff Writer

With the Georgia General Assembly set to open next week, Rep. Lynn Westmoreland is looking forward to the “education year.”

Westmoreland represents northern Fayette and eastern Coweta counties in the 104th District. Gov. Roy Barnes has said his focus this legislative term will be in beefing up the state's education program, Westmoreland pointed out.

“Everybody's excited about this and I'm glad we're finally focusing on education,” he said.

One of the local education issues Westmoreland will be monitoring is securing state funding for Coweta County's Central Education Center.

The center, which opens next fall, is Coweta's first technical and charter school. Businesses from around the county offered input into the types of classes taught at the school and Westmoreland believes the governor will approve state funding for the project.

“I think he wants this to be a centerpiece to show other communities around the state what can be done when everybody works together,” he said.

Usually by this time of year, Westmoreland has received requests from local leaders about issues that need to be discussed by the legislature. But this year, the phone has been quiet.

Statewide, Westmoreland said the legislators will focus on trying to spread some of the Atlanta region's good economic health to other parts of the state.

“The governor has created a Georgia One program that would offer economic incentives for companies to locate in other areas of the state,” he said.

Legislators also will look at the governor's proposal to require developers to set aside a certain percentage of their land for green space. Westmoreland recently served on a committee studying the state's water supplies and said water will also be a critical issue as the state continues to grow.

Since this year is an election year, Westmoreland expects things to be relatively quiet this year. The representative recently moved to Sharpsburg from his long-time home base in Tyrone. Westmoreland is enjoying his new surroundings, but still manages to visit many of his friends in Tyrone, he said.