Wednesday, August 6, 2003
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Wednesday, August 6, 2003 |
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Schools expect 21,000 students Monday By J. FRANK LYNCH
Nearly 21,000 students are expected to return to class when Fayette County schools open for the 2003-2004 term next Monday. With a conservative projected enrollment of 20,991 students, final attendance figures will most likely break the 21,000 mark, said Superintendent John DeCotis. "We were just under 21,000 last year, so we'll probably have about 21,500 officially," he said Tuesday. No matter the final figure, it represents the largest student enrollment in county history, the continuation of a slow and steady rise in classroom head counts that has seen an 11.3 percent growth rate over five years. In 1998, Fayette schools enrolled 18,762. Two new schools open this fall, bringing the county's total to 29. The new schools include Whitewater High, which welcomes freshmen only this year in a temporary location at the LaFayette Educational Center in Fayetteville, and Crabapple Lane Elementary, which school officials vowed would open in its north Peachtree City location on Monday even though final occupancy permits for the building had not been given as of Tuesday afternoon. Teachers, parents and other volunteers were ready to move in at a moment's notice once the permits are in hand, DeCotis said. "There were some minor, last-minute things the fire marshal wanted us to do in there, and those things are done," DeCotis said Tuesday. "We just need to get the fire marshal in there." Crabapple has enrolled nearly 500 students in its first year, said Principal Doe Evans, and draws from the Kedron and Tyrone attendance zones. Here's a "by the numbers" look at Fayette schools, provided by the district's public information office:
Projected Enrollment: 20,991 Number of Schools: 29 Elementary Schools: 17 Middle Schools: 5 High Schools: 5 Evening High: 1 Alternative High: 1 Projected Certified Teachers: 1,632 Substitute Teachers: 712 School-level classified staff: 563 Bus drivers: 182 Substitute bus drivers: 10 Number of bus monitors: 24 Number of buses: 240 Number of new buses, leased not purchased this year: 20 Central office personnel, certified and classified: 226 Number of new teachers (as of July 21): 125 Number of new staff systemwide (as of July 21): 41.5 Number of new teaching positions added to the 2003-2004 budget: 17 Operating budget, 2003-2004 school year: $148.6 million. Number of new teaching positions added to the 2003-2004 budget: 17
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