By PAT NEWMAN
pnewman@TheCitizenNews.com

No tax increases are anticipated to cover this year's budget for Fayette County schools, but it is too soon to tell if taxes will be reduced.

In a 4-1 vote, the Fayette County Board of Education gave tentative approval to a $124.1 million budget for fiscal 2001, which includes a unified salary scale for school employees.

This reflects a 6.7 percent increase over last year's budget.

The single opposing vote was cast by Woody Shelnutt, who claimed he did not have enough time to review the inch-thick financial plan. He also opposed the unified salary scale proposal, saying it is “not in the best interest of the taxpayers.”

Board Chairman Debbie Condon said the proposal was a “good idea.” “It's a concerted effort to give employees a clear understanding of how we pay them... it is in the best interest of the taxpayers and the employees,” she said.

Implementation of the plan will cost $630,000 more than the old plan and includes a 3 percent pay raise for classified employees.

Dr. John DeCotis, school superintendent, gave an overview of the budget noting that House Bill 1187, or the Governor's Education Reform Plan, “has not had a serious impact yet,” but did affect some personnel, and how money was categorized. The biggest loss will be the $500,000 annually received from the state Equalization Grant, he noted.

The budget funds 37 new teaching positions ($2 million), 19 nursing positions ($268,000) classroom additions at Fayette, Booth and Whitewater middle schools ($1.5 million local and $4 million from the state) and a bus lease program ($1.25 million).

Final approval of the budget is scheduled for Monday, June 26.