Another school construction vote next year seems likely, Fayette County school officials said following the 52–48 percent defeat of a $90 million package last week, and they are optimistic despite what some perceive as the county's “anti-growth” disposition.

“Right now, and it's been surprising, we're getting all kinds of calls from citizens and community people that have expressed an interest in helping us deal with the decisions we're going to have to make,” Dr. John DeCotis, Fayette County school superintendent, said Friday. “We're going to reassess where we are; we have to look at our five-year plan, because this thing (SPLOST) would have gotten us through the next five years, and reassess what we may have to do that is different.”

When might the next vote be? “My feeling, personally, is to come back with something in a year,” DeCotis said, with another SPLOST or bond issue.

Fayette County voters defeated a $90 million funding package for schools based on a one cent sales tax and bond sale. It's the second time, the first being in 1997, that a SPLOST (special local option sales tax) was turned down.

With students flooding the school system at a rate of about 1,000 per year, what effects will be seen, now that new schools, classroom additions and upgraded technology and security measures cannot be funded?

The most tangible and immediate results of the SPLOST defeat is the inability to proceed with rewiring schools and updating aging technology, which was targeted for $1.2 the first year of SPLOST, and the lack of another million for security devices, according to DeCotis.

Another loss will be the $2.9 million in state growth funds to build a new elementary school, and $4.5 million for a new middle school. “For the elementary school, we won't be able to make our local portion. We're going to have to consider how to handle it. Right now, we don't have $5 million to apply to an elementary school,” DeCotis stated.

The next foreseeable effect will be an increase in class size, according to Fred Oliver, assistant superintendent. “We still have limits,” Oliver said, but he admitted that under state guidelines, grades kindergarten-3 could climb to 28 students and grades 4-12 to 33 students. What schools would be impacted the most as the enrollment continues to climb? “Spring Hill, Kedron, Booth, Brooks. I shudder to look at Tyrone.“

DeCotis predicted Fayette County High School and Starr's Mill High School would also be impacted. Double sessions would be considered as an option to ease overcrowding; other possibilities include year-round school and additional portable classrooms.

If the district's enrollment builds up to the end of the year, as it has in the past, DeCotis said, additional teachers will not be hired this year. Other cutbacks could come in teacher allotments, money teachers get to purchase additional classroom resources.

But DeCotis said money would not be pulled from the instructional budget. For instance, the new math curriculum under review for the next year, will not be affected. “We set aside so much a year for a textbook adoption,” DeCotis explained. “A school system could decide that security is more important, but I don't feel that's the appropriate thing to do,” he said.

Does DeCotis believe higher teacher-pupil ratios could affect test scores and the level of education currently enjoyed by Fayette County students?

“Whenever you have to tighten up and you do not provide the citizens and the students what they have grown accustomed to, there's going to be some effect on what's going on. Whether or not it's going to measurable right away, or whether or not we will be able to see the cause and effect right away, I don't know. But we're going to try our hardest and try to do the best we can with our resources... we will certainly try our hardest,” he said.

According to state department projections, DeCotis said Fayette County will ultimately be home to more than 200,000 citizens, “and we're not even halfway there yet,” he said.

Many people, including DeCotis, believe that the SPLOST was defeated because of an anti-growth sentiment of the voters. “Fayette County has grown fast, and a lot of people want it to stay less developed,” he said.

Looking back to the bond issue of 1994, DeCotis said he asked himself what would the school district be like today if it had been unable to build Rising Starr, Starr's Mill, Spring Hill Kedron, and Peeples, plus additions at Huddleston, Braelinn, Burch, Tyrone, Hood , and Fayette Elementary. “Now think, just think, if that didn't pass, where would those children be?”

“We would probably be in double sessions right now,” Oliver said.

Even with the prospect of another referendum looming in the next year, DeCotis admitted that they will already be behind and also be faced with a tacking on 3.5 percent extra to whatever is planned, due to inflation.

Even if some plans are cut, DeCotis said, “When you cut what you're asking for, people come back and say you never planned ahead. For example, if we come back with another one (referendum) and it passes, we're going to be behind and people will say we didn't build enough. But one cent will only get you so much....”

In regard to placing another SPLOST before the voters next year, DeCotis was optimistic. He noted that there was a 20 point spread between the votes for and against two years ago and only a two point spread this go round. “Statistically, that's pretty significant,” he said.

Jim Stephens, finance director for the school district reinforced his belief in the SPLOST method of funding.

“It's such a beautiful concept to me,” he said. “You avoid debt, you get the job done and you pay off the bond, then it's over. You're not locked into 20 years,” Stephens said, referring to a bond issue.

DeCotis noted that he and the board will continue to accept the unsolicited advice on what they should do from citizens. “You get good ideas,” DeCotis said. Some of the more interesting ideas included wearing arm bands or t-shirts the next time there's a referendum that read,” Ask me about SPLOST,” imposing impact fees on developers, which can't be legally done at this time, and having the school board take on a business partner to donate the necessary funds. “Sometimes these ideas can develop into something we didn't think of,” DeCotis noted.

“We have not brought everybody together yet,” DeCotis added, referring to school administration and the board, “to brainstorm ideas on what we need to do. We'd also like to involve some citizens on this.”

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