A study released late last week by the Department of Education shows Coweta County having one of the highest dropout rates in the metro area, but Superintendent of Education Richard Brooks said the school system is already addressing the issue.

The study covers the 1996-97 school year and shows Coweta with a dropout rate if 11.2 percent. In the metro area, only Bartow, with a rate of 11.8 percent had a higher rate than Coweta.

Brooks is well aware of the problem and said the school system is looking at several different ways to combat the problem.

"With our new Central Educational Center coming on line in 2000, we will have a night high school which will give students another alternative to complete their education," he said.

But Brooks added that the dropout rate is not only a school-system problem, but a community-wide issue as well.

"It's really an education problem for the whole community. We need local employees to not hire dropouts,' he said.

When the whole community gets behind the problem, Brooks believes the rate will drop. He advocates a program to educate the parents and instill in them a sense of the importance of completing high school.

In addition to looking towards the night high school as a way of lowering the rate, Brooks said the county already has in place an alternative school at Fairmount that helps students finish their education by putting them in a smaller class and devoting more time to the student's needs.

Other surrounding county's dropout rates include:

· Fulton, 6.7 percent.

· Fayette, 2.3 percent.