Wednesday, November 22, 2000
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Wednesday, November 22, 2000 |
| School board getting
ducks in a row for construction projects
By PAT NEWMAN
Scheduling to meet the required deadlines for the $65 million school bond referendum passed by Fayette County voters in the general election will begin next week, school finance director Jim Stephens told the Fayette Board of Education Monday night. He said the final closing date for the sale of bonds is set for Feb. 5. With this in mind, the board discussed possible land acquisitions in executive session following the open meeting. Once property is secured, plans to build three new elementary schools and one new high school can move forward. "We hope before the end of school to lock in or purchase some property, but we don't know exactly where that will be," Superintendent Dr. John DeCotis said last week. Prospective sites may be located south of Fayetteville, along the Ga. Highway 74 corridor between Peachtree City and Tyrone and in the West Village of Peachtree, according to preliminary discussions. In preparation for the impending construction, DeCotis suggested that the board appoint citizens to a building committee to oversee the building program, with an internal committee to determine "how we handle growth" and set school boundary lines. Three new board members will take office in January and it was decided that a decision on naming people to either committee be deferred until the new year. Board member Mickey Littlefield suggested that the committee should be composed of people who represent the geographical areas of the county, as well as construction professionals. DeCotis also pitched the idea of determining a philosophy of construction management. Should a person be hired by the school system to handle jobs such as determining the bidding process? Or would it be better to have a project manager hired by the construction firm or contract a building consultant? It was decided that a future work session should be scheduled to hear presentations from both project managers and building consultants. According to the board members who were involved in the last round of school construction, the school system itself handled management with assistance from former Superintendent Dave Brotherton and current facilities director Mike Satterfield.
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