By PAT NEWMAN
pnewman@thecitizennews.com

Debbie Condon will retain her position as chairman of the Fayette County Board of Education for a second year, following a Monday night vote of three to one.

Greg Powers will continue as vice chairman. He was voted in unanimously by the five-member board. Board member Connie Hale abstained from voting for Condon, stating that there was no prior communication on the subject.

Board member Woody Shelnutt voted against Condon.

The board also voted to retain the legal services of Harben and Hartley for another year and the Weatherly law firm to handle specialized cases involving special education. Scheduled monthly meetings will continue to be third Mondays at 7:30 p.m., barring holiday conflicts such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January, Presidents Day in February and a conference in July.

This month's meeting will be Jan. 24, February's date is the 28th and in July, the board will meet the 24th.

Assistant superintendent Stuart Bennett estimated that 40 students had withdrawn from the district's schools as a result of a recent crackdown on residency requirements. He was able to verify 26 of those who could not prove residence in Fayette County.

He said 80-plus students pulling out during the first semester was common. “We have clean addresses on the majority of students,” he told the board. “We intend to put in place regular checks; not check 19,200 students.”

Students attending Fayette County schools were required to present current utility bills verifying their addresses. The process started in September and was completed this month. The intensive search saved the taxpayers $84,000, according to Bennett, citing the 26 students who withdrew because of the residency check.