By PAT NEWMAN
pnewman@TheCitizenNews.com

Heads are still being counted in Fayette County's 26 public schools following the opening of the 2001-2002 school year Monday. But one thing is certain: More classroom space is needed, with almost every school at or exceeding its capacity level, according to School Superintendent Dr. John DeCotis.

A board of education work session Monday night focused on the increasing need for additional classroom space. DeCotis and members of the board-appointed facilities advisory committee highlighted the results of last Tuesday's meeting where the group weighed various options for handling overcrowding.

The preliminary recommendation was for a special local option sales tax (SPLOST) to be placed on the ballot in the Nov. 7 general election with redistricting to begin in the most overcrowded schools next school year.

The facilities advisory committee is a 28-member body composed of community leaders, school administrators and parent activists whose goal is to make recommendations to the board for consideration on how to best handle growth in the school system.

The group will meet again tonight at 7 p.m. to bolster its recommendation with facts and figures for presentation to the board next Monday night at 7:30 p.m. during its regularly scheduled voting session.

A decision, if any, to place some type of funding referendum on the ballot must come by the end of the month, DeCotis said, in order to meet the election time frame.

Voters have turned down a SPLOST twice, but the margin of loss was narrowed to a mere 1.6 percent last September, noted SPLOST activist and school board member-elect Janet Smola. “We do not want to place a funding initiative before the board that will not pass,” she said. Smola believes the last initiative failed because of controversial items included, such as athletic facilities and technology. The current proposal under consideration would be a “bare bones, bricks and mortar” approach.

“There's been a lot of focus on one option or the other,” said board member Mickey Littlefield, referring to the SPLOST versus bond debate. “As long as we achieve the goal of the board... this is the issue. The issue is we need new facilities.”

School Board Chairman Debbie Condon vented her frustrations over recent “campaign rhetoric” and public criticisms of the current board over financing and the last round of school construction. Condon did not seek reelection this year, nor did fellow board member Woody Shelnutt. Connie Hale was defeated last week in her bid for reelection by former board member and teacher Marion Key.

Hale questioned aloud whether the sitting board even wanted to vote on a referendum. “I don't want to tie the hands of the new board,” she said. “It's a decision that they need to make.”

Smola said she appreciated Hale's sensitivity, but asked that the board go ahead with a decision, “absolving you of all guilt ... We've looked at this for 100 hours and there is nothing that is not absolutely necessary yesterday.”

Condon said, “I'll stick my neck out... I truly believe if we get the message out, people will understand,” referring to the need for a vote on a bond or SPLOST to remedy the growing school population problem.

Overcrowding is significant, especially at Fayette County High School, which welcomed a freshman class of approximately 700 students this week. The 3-year-old facility was designed to hold 1,800 students and currently has 2,105 students on the rolls. With 100 new students added per year, Mike Satterfield, the school district's facilities director, predicted the enrollment could peak at 2,500 in four years, “unless some type of redistricting goes on.”

Sandy Creek High School is about 300 students under capacity, and could begin accepting students next school year if district lines are redrawn for the high schools and middle schools to relieve overcrowding, Satterfield said.

During last week's advisory committee meeting, Stuart Bennett, the school district's superintendent for curriculum and instruction, outlined some of the alternatives to dealing with maxed-out facilities. He emphasized the need to maintain academic standards whatever course of short-term action was elected. Alternatives such as double sessions and the trimester system, which requires students to attend two semesters out of three year-round semesters, were deemed the least acceptable options among the committee members.