It was a meeting for Fayette County School Board to review the school system’s five-year strategic plan. Yet interspersed throughout the discussion Jan. 10 were continued thoughts on ways to deal with an impending revenue shortfall that will be addressed at the board’s Jan. 27 meeting.

Among the potential cost reduction actions discussed were reconfiguring and consolidating school administrative staff, not opening the new Rivers Elementary on Sandy Creek Road and further reducing the number of school system staff, in schools and at central office, beyond the approximately 80 positions that have been eliminated through attrition.

Approximately 11.5 of those positions came from central office staff, said Superintendent John DeCotis.

Other potential measures included cutting salaries and/or benefits and reducing the number of administrative positions at some schools.

Board members also discussed consolidating or moving one or more schools, though that potential would require redistricting.

Board members are expected to take up the issue of budget cuts and reductions at the Jan. 27 meeting.

Their actions will follow other measures taken over the past several months based on recommendations of the school system’s cost cutting committee. But now into 2009, the decisions will likely encompass system-wide personnel and facilities issues.

Near the beginning of the meeting, board member Lee Wright suggested that the plan should include a goal on fiscal responsibility.

A roundtable discussion followed, ending with all in agreement that fiscal responsibility should be tied to school system goals and formal plans.

That agreement was only the beginning. The conversation that followed hit on a host of possible budget-impacting actions designed to help the school system deal with conditions, stated at previous board meetings, that stem from the local and national recession.

And though the matters were intended for discussion only at the Jan. 10 meeting, what resulted was a litany of possible actions that would offset a potential $2.6 million budget shortfall and another $3.5 million if the legislature were to follow Gov. Sonny Perdue’s call to withhold the property tax credit to counties that is tied to the homestead exemption.

Fayette County tax-levying entities would stand to lose approximately $5.764 million if that occurred. The school system’s share is more than $3.5 million.

Along the lines of budgetary concerns and fiscal responsibility, Wright said it was important to begin budgeting for a reserve each year.

Addressing the school system’s goals for the next strategic plan cycle that were supplied by the School Improvement Committee, the board preferred wrapping those into the SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) standards to provide a more streamlined approach and less confusion.

The board suggested three new goals aimed at fiscal responsibility, student performance and internal communication. The plan itself includes seven standards for goals suggested for the next planning cycle.

Standard 1: Vision and purpose carries the goal of fully implementing the Fayette County vision, mission and strategic directions.

Standard 2: Governance and leadership includes the goal of implementing the newly developed Fayette County Board of Education procedures manual.

Standard 3: Teaching and learning includes three recommended goals and one added at the Jan. 10 meeting.

Previous recognized goals include implementing effective teaching strategies, providing interventions to help students meet expectations and determining ways to most effectively meet the needs of students with disabilities and English language learners to eliminate the achievement gaps between subgroups. The new goal would improve student performance.

Standard 4: Documenting and using results includes the goal of establishing a balanced score card to monitor system progress.

Standard 5: Resources and support systems identified the goals of continuing to develop top talent in all employment classifications and identifying factors that motivate employees to remain in or depart from the school system.

The board Jan. 10 agreed to the addition of a goal to tie fiscal responsibility to school system goals and formal plans.

Standard 6: Stakeholder communications and relationships noted continuing the excellent home-school-community partnership that has been so successful in ensuring student success. An additional goal added Jan. 10 would implement continuous communication between the school board, system staff and field staff.

Standard 7: Commitment to continuous improvement carries the goal of fully implementing the Fayette County strategic plan.

Standards and goals can be viewed at the Primary Goals & Initiatives section of the school board tab at the school system’s website, www.fcboe.org.