The proposed $6 million refinancing and construction package which includes the Starr's Mill High School stadium lies in limbo today, while school board attorneys investigate the legality of the proposed financing plan.

The Fayette County Board of Education voted 3-to-2 Monday night to rescind the motion made Jan. 25 by Board Member Greg Powers to fund the complete package through Certificates of Participation (COPS), including the district's $1.9 share of new construction at Flat Rock and North Fayette Elementary Schools. COPS are a way of borrowing money and paying off the debt using future receipts.

Chairman Debbie Condon and members Connie Hale and Woody Shelnutt voted to rescind the motion, while two of the board's newest members, Greg Powers and Mickey Littlefield, voted against the action.

Hale first questioned the legality of the funding mechanism at the Jan. 25 meeting and repeated her concerns again Monday night. "Was it legal?" Hale asked.

Shelnutt cited specific items in the text from the Georgia School Board Association (GSBA) which cast some doubt on the board's previous action. Can the school board mix COPS money with state capital outlay money? Shelnutt asked. What impact does the failed 1998 SPLOST have on the COPS? Can the board use capital outlay money for a stadium?

These are some of the questions raised by Shelnutt and posed to Phil Hartley, attorney for the school board. "These are specific issues I have not looked into," Hartley told the board. "I will take a detailed look and investigate this further," he said.

The board expects to meet again with Hartley as early as Thursday or as late as Tuesday of next week. "I think we need to move as quickly as possible," Condon said. "I want to get the South Complex stadium project bid out as quickly as possible."

If the proposed funding plan fails to pass legal muster, Shelnutt suggested they just start the process over again, funding the project in a different way. Shelnutt said he had talked to the school board's former attorney (Sarah Murphy) about the current plan.

The funding plan had called for $2.9 million to be used to refinance the debt owed on Sandy Creek High School. Additionally, $1.9 million would have been used for new construction at North Fayette Elementary School and Flat Rock Middle School, while $1.2 million would have been designated for the stadium at Starr's Mill and athletics facilities at the South Complex (Starr's Mill, Rising Starr Middle, and Peeples Elementary), Fayette County High School and McIntosh High School.