Wednesday, April 25, 2001
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Wednesday, April 25, 2001 |
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Smola: Larger school board worth a look By MONROE
ROARK
Is the five-member school board large enough to oversee Fayette's growing student population? That's a question on the minds of many local residents, according to one Board of Education member. Recent updated population figures from the U.S. Census, and the redistricting that inevitably follows, have motivated a number of people to ask about possible board restructuring, according to board member Janet Smola. But she emphasizes that she plans to simply gather information and does not in any way assume that any action would be taken on the issue for quite some time. Fayette's overall population has increased about 30,000 over the past ten years a jump of approximately 50 percent. The population of the school system has seen a similar growth pattern, from 12,569 students in 1990 to about 19,800 now. Smola has received calls from constituents for a couple of months now, she said, starting with the release of census estimates earlier this year and continuing as media coverage of the census has increased. She has also talked to state Rep. Kathy Cox, who is playing a key role in upcoming legislative sessions regarding reapportionment. Those sessions are expected to be held in August. "I do believe it warrants examination," said Smola, who brought up the subject at last week's school board meeting, inviting board members and others to provide Cox with whatever questions or input they thought relevant. "I promised my constituents I would look into it." Smola is the school board's legislative liaison. Cox, a former full-time teacher at Sandy Creek who now teaches part-time at McIntosh, spends much of her legislative time working on education-related issues. One of the first things that will be looked at is the process for making such a change in the board, which Smola said she is not sure of right now. One thing that is certain is reapportionment, which will happen on the county level after the new state districts are adjusted to reflect the latest census totals. "Reapportionment will happen anyway because of the census," said Smola. "The school board has absolutely no control over that." As for changes in the makeup of the board, that would likely take a vote of that body as well as action by the state legislature, she added. Because of that, any action would take a couple of years, at least. "I have no intention of rushing into this," she said. "I am fully aware that I am a single vote of a five-member board, but when I am asked by a constituent to investigate an issue, I plan to investigate it. This is important because it could dictate how the board works for the next 10 years." Smola did offer that she personally favors an increase in the size of the board. "I believe when you have a change in population and demographics, you have to examine whether your constituents are being served properly," she said. "I do believe the population has grown enough for us to consider this." If that were to happen, Smola said she would like to see a couple of nonpartisan seats added, perhaps making them at-large seats in addition to the five districts that now exist. "Those are simply my opinions," she said. "I have not asked the opinion of every other board member." After her comments at last week's board meeting, Chairman Mickey Littlefield asked superintendent Dr. John DeCotis to check surrounding districts and see how their enrollment totals and board sizes stack up. Smola said she believes Fayette has one of the smallest school boards in the state. After some investigation, the issue will likely be brought up after the state reapportionment sessions not before September, Smola said. But with the strong possibility that Fayette's legislative representation could increase after reapportionment, it makes sense that changes on the county level could be a good idea, she added.
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