Wednesday, April 4, 2001
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Wednesday, April 4, 2001 |
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Littlefield: School board determined to 'do it right' By DAVE
HAMRICK
Fayette County's school board is working harmoniously and wants an open relationship with other local governments, its chairman told an assembly of political leaders last week. Chairman Mickey Littlefield and state Rep. Kathy Cox addressed a meeting of the Association of Fayette County Governments last week. Littlefield said the board has the right attitude as it moves into a $65 million building program, and Cox said the county may be getting some more state money. "Politically, we have a school board that is working as a unit and is on the same page," he told the group, which includes both elected and appointed officials from five Fayette cities, the county government and the Board of Education. The board hopes to start construction soon on two new elementary schools, both at the same time, and is searching for a site for a third elementary school. A high school will be built within the next five years as well, Littlefield informed the group. "We are dedicated to doing it right," he said, adding that the board also hopes to accomplish the most painful part of the expansion process redrawing school district boundaries as smoothly as possible. "We hope we can just do that one time" for all the new schools, he said. Littlefield addressed another topic that's high on the agendas of most school systems safety, but he said local officials are confident that they're ready for anything that happens. "We're always concerned about violence," he said, adding, "Folks, it could happen here." But Fayette is the first county school system in Georgia that has a certified plan for dealing with a variety of emergency situations. Capt. Pete Nelms of the Fayette Department of Fire and Emergency Services developed the system, he said, and school officials in other areas are learning from Fayette's system. "The state has even picked his [Nelms'] brain," Littlefield said. In a brief overview of the recent state legislative session, Rep. Cox said the new budget includes additional money for school systems like Fayette. "The state has set aside a half billion dollars for construction, and we are getting some of that money," she said. But the money is targeted toward reducing pupil to teacher ratios, and since Fayette is ahead of the curve on that goal, the county may not receive as much as other areas will. "Having always done the right thing," she said, "we're not going to get as big a slice of the pie." In other business, the group elected new officers, returning Larry Dell as chairman. County Commissioner Herb Frady was named vice chairman and Peachtree City Councilwoman Annie McMenamin was named secretary-treasurer. The group also voted to allow city managers, the county administrator and the school superintendent to become voting members. The group will meet again in July10, to be hosted by the town of Tyrone.
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