Board calls civility
policy a matter of simple respect By PAT
NEWMAN
Staff Writer
What
Fayette school officials want from school staff,
parents and visitors to schools is simple, said
Board of Education Chairman Debbie Condon: a
little respect.
The
board discussed a policy intended to maintain
civil behavior on school grounds during a called
session. The policy simply says we want
people to be respectful on our property,
said Condon.
School
superintendent Dr. John DeCotis added, We
haven't had a problem with this in our schools,
but it's difficult in a high stress society for
people to remain calm and cool. He added
that school principals know how to handle
volatile situations. This puts it into a
policy, DeCotis said.
The
proposed policy, which will be under review for
30 days, states:
Members
of the Fayette County School District staff
should treat parents and other members of the
public with respect, and expect the same in
return. The district is committed to keeping
schools and administrative offices free from
disruptions, and to preventing unauthorized
persons from entering school or district grounds.
Accordingly,
employees are expected to follow practices which
promote mutual respect, civility and orderly
conduct among district employees, parents and the
public in an effort to maintain a safe,
harassment-free workplace for our students and
staff. It is not intended to deprive any person
of his or her rights to freedom of expression. In
the interest of presenting teachers, other
employees, parents and other adults as positive
role models, the school system encourages
positive communication and discourages volatile,
hostile or aggressive actions.
In
other business, the board called a proposal by
the Panther Athletic Booster Club to raise
$150,000 to fund concrete bleachers at the
Starr's Mill High School stadium under
construction a win-win situation.
Total cost of replacing the aluminum bleachers
with concrete is $300,000, but according to Jimmy
McCullough, booster club president, $150,000 has
been pledged by the Fayette Community Foundation,
a group of anonymous donors.
There
will be no incremental costs to the Board of
Education, he said. The boosters agreed to
make up the difference in cost between the
aluminum and concrete when it was learned that
Leslie Contracting Inc. was having difficulty
securing aluminum due to a worldwide shortage.
Leslie has issued the PABC a two-year,
interest-free note on the $150,000 and McCullough
is confident his organization can muster the
money. Their current budget is in excess of
$100,000 and their fund-raising projects have
full support of the PABC and the Starr's Mill
Band Boosters.
Completion
of the stadium is likely to be in February 2000.
The uncertainty of obtaining the aluminum could
have delayed the project even further.
The
board also hired John Thompson as the school's
director of transportation, replacing Bill
Bonnett, who moved to a position at the state
level. Thompson has been Troup County School
Systems's transportation director since 1996.
Hired
as the school district's purchasing agent was
Fred Phillips, a former Peachtree City resident,
employed for the last two years by Honeywell in
Phoenix, Ariz.
Cheryl
Hilderbrand, a reading and language arts
consultant with the Griffin Regional Educational
Services Agency, has been hired as the school
district's reading coordinator.
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