After closely following the Fayette County Board of Education for the last two years, I have decided to take a stand. My name is Nicole File and I am running as a write-in candidate for Post 1 of the Fayette County Board of Education.

My family and I have lived in Fayette County for more than 10 years. We enjoyed living in Fayetteville for six years and we now reside in Peachtree City.

I am an advocate for two things above all else: open government and fiscal responsibility.

Like many in Fayette County, I am deeply concerned that the FCBOE has failed to release vital information relating to finances, redistricting and administrative decisions under Georgia’s Open Records laws. We as citizens have the right to know how our tax dollars are spent, how important decisions are made, whether the best interests of the students have been considered in those decisions, and whether board members are listening to the taxpayers who entrusted them with a critical job.

I believe that the elected board members of the FCBOE should be held accountable for their financial decisions.

Prior to the primary election in July, we were often reminded that the FCBOE was a “Board of Distinction” and of how great things were in the Fayette County School System.

There was no mention of a budget shortfall or a tax increase prior to their primary election. There was no mention whatsoever to the public of a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) prior to the primary election.

Do you, too, see an act of political convenience on the part of the board incumbents? They never mentioned a tax increase or an expensive SPLOST until they had already secured their seats in this past primary election in July.

What happened to the picture of “all is well” presented by the FCBOE prior to the July primary? When did the “sunshine and roses” they sold us turn into the “gloom and doom” and financial ruin now touted by board members?

If the financial picture for the FCBOE was so bleak, why was there total silence for the years preceding the incumbents’ primary election in July of this year?

We should all be concerned when the FCBOE resorts to scare tactics such as a threat of teacher layoffs, at local PTO meetings (The Citizen, “Pass SPLOST or cut 261 jobs?,” July 29, 2008). We should all be concerned that the FCBOE mysteriously found $900,000 in revenue two weeks ago (AJC, ”School board increases property taxes,” Aug. 29, 2008).

Running for elected office as a write-in candidate is a daunting task. However, I can no longer sit by and read the contrasting reports from among our board members. It is time for parents and taxpayers to have a stronger voice in the FCBOE. If I may have your support, I will be that voice.

Let me hear from you. Please forward me your thoughts and ideas.

Nicole File

Write-in candidate: FCBOE Post 1

www.nicolefile.org

Peachtree City, Ga.