By PAT NEWMAN
Staff Writer

Fayette County School Board members discovered that their goals and opinions about the school district were fairly well-aligned Saturday, during a one-day retreat held at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel near Hartsfield Airport.

Preparing all Fayette County students for post-secondary education and the workplace emerged as their collective vision. Providing the means to reach that goal took up the better part of the afternoon.

“We've never gotten together like this before,” Debbie Condon, board chairman said. “This was very valuable.”

The retreat was guided by Dr. John McGavin of the Regional Educational Services Agency (RESA). “This is an opportunity to reflect and be creative,” he told the board. “Take stock, think about the future and how to get there.”

The consensus of the board was that the school system was doing a good job. “We put out a good product and provide tremendous opportunities for students, but it's up to the students and their parents to take advantage of them; I don't believe that they always do that,” Condon said.

Board member Connie Hale added, “For the most part, I'm pleased with the academics.” She advocated keeping the teacher-to-pupil ratio low. “If it is increased, we could run into a few problems.”

More courses and greater opportunities for vocational and technical education students are two things board member Greg Powers would like to see.

Better discipline in the classroom would provide students with more learning time, according to board member Mickey Littlefield, who believes about 20-30 minutes of a 55-minute class can be wasted while teachers deal with discipline problems.

Better communication is a goal the board and key staff, including Superintendent, Dr. John DeCotis, agree is important.

“The majority of problems arise from a lack of communication,” Hale said.

One communication issue facing the board now is conveying the specifics of the Special Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) referendum coming up for a vote on Sept.21.

“Every dollar we spend on trailers is money we can't put in the classrooms... Are people willing to pay for a good school system? What brings people here also causes problems,” Condon said.

“We covered a lot of things that we feel are important,” DeCotis said during the wrap-up “I think you hit the nail on the head — work and post-secondary school are the main issues.”

Assistant Superintendent Fred Oliver added, ”A strategic plan should drive the system. It should pull everybody together.”