Wednesday, January 28, 2004

Cutbacks in service may be ahead as BoE plans weekend budget talks By J. FRANK LYNCH jflynch@theCitizenNews.com Fayette County parents grown accustomed to a certain level of service from their local school district protested loudly last August when budget concerns forced a cutback in bus routes. Similar cuts in “luxuries” provided by the Fayette County Board of Education could be reality next fall as well, as the state prepares to cut millions of education dollars to local systems in the 2005 budget. Those concerns and the initial brainstorming for the district’s next five-year building program will be among the topics Saturday when the school board gathers for their annual retreat. Because the board won’t actually be going anywhere, meeting at school district headquarters in downtown Fayetteville, Superintendent John DeCotis is calling the meeting a “summit.” Whatever it’s called, the five-hour working session is open to the public and will include long-range planning of instructional programs as well. The summit starts at 8:30 a.m. and will run until about 1:30, Decotis said. Lunch will be provided by a school district business partner. “So it’s not costing us a thing,” he said. What do you think of this story? Click here to send a message to the editor. Back to News Home Page | Back to the top of the page