I am writing this letter and sending it to everyone who may have a true concern or vested interest in helping the Fayette County School System find its way from lack to abundance.

I am employed by the county and for that reason I do not feel comfortable signing my name. I am not attempting to wound anyone, personally or professionally. In my opinion, the positions that are named here are simply redundant or useless and are in need of a staunch evaluation before they are allowed to remain as part of the system.

1. Completely eliminate the practice of hiring non-posted positions.

• Custodians and secretaries who are already on the payroll should do custodial and clerical work that needs to be done in the summer. Administrators’ children are hired yearly, and (I have witnessed) simply play and disappear during most work hours. You have created a summer work program for upper-level administrators’ children that is unethical.

2. Eliminate outside “consultants” who are hired to do the work of individuals already on payroll.

• Gifted consultant hired to test students at Mcintosh High School. Teachers of the gifted or the county gifted coordinator, L. Ann Richardson, who was paid $108,112.96 plus $6,875.15 travel for fiscal year 2008, would be the likely person to assist with testing. She could use some of her travel dollars to actually go to the schools where the gifted students are. The county also employs a “Director” whose departments’ description includes testing and a “Testing Coordinator,” one of which could possibly assist with some actual testing of these students.

3. Eliminate the Office of Public Relations.

• No other school system in the state of Georgia the size of Fayette County has this type of “specialist.” Apparently, Melinda Berry-Dreisbach has a staff.

• This is not listed on fcboe.org, but at least one staffer, Natalie Jones, sends out emails from the FCBOE Public Relations office.

• The FCBOE cable channel should be eliminated as it does not affect instruction and only reaches households that have cable.

4. Abolish the office of Deputy Superintendent.

• A simple review of the job description and actual duties performed would facilitate the elimination of this office. There are just too many administrators at the Central Office level.

5. Downsize the department of Professional Learning. We have two professional learning directors, Watson and Fleming.

• If you are able to go online and view the PLU classes that are being made available to the educators of our system, you will realize that this department has very little to offer. What is offered, scheduled, recorded, etc., is done by clerical personnel.

6. Eliminate the VERY redundant positions at LEC/Career Tech/Community School/Open Campus.

• The webpage indicates the following administrators are directing or administering there: Ed Steil and Tim Carder.

• Cindy Campbell and Ruth West are listed as “Managers.”

• The webpage doesn’t mention “administrators,” Liz Grove and Linda Kippa, who are employed, in some capacity, there. This leaves open the possibility that there are other unnamed administrators on the payroll.

• I have been in many areas of that building at various times of day during most months of the year and I have yet to see one student or non-FCBOE employee in the building.

7. Eliminate the Welcome Center staff.

• What is a “Planning Officer” anyway? Why didn’t that person plan for the lack of increased enrollment that we are experiencing?

• If Fayette is indeed losing students and enrollment is down, the individual schools should again assume this duty. The schools are the ones who know the students, their parents, and their areas.

8. Why does a system of our size and financial status have assistant superintendents, directors and coordinators for the same positions? Do the directors need coordinating or do the coordinators need directing? And do they all need supervising on the executive level?

9. Eliminate the supplement for “technology contacts” at all schools.

• The county employs a Technology Services Director and a staff of 12 others who should be able to contact the SASI clerks, principals or assistant principals at the individual schools.

10. Eliminate assistant principal positions at schools with less than 350 students.

11. Severely downsize the Human Resources Department.

• The county is not hiring new personnel and benefits are being decreased, so the demand for this department decreases.

12. Discontinue the practice of financing trips to conferences and conventions.

• If the educator deems it a “professional necessity” to attend the conference he/she should pay the registration, dues, travel and expenses out of pocket for this important event. Classroom teachers who require materials, etc. frequently pay for them out of pocket These luxurious trips should be treated the same way.

• Discontinue the practice of financing and allowing administrators to attend continuing education “seminars” during school time unless they use acquired personal or vacation days, travel at their own expense and pay registration and other expenses out of pocket.

13. Scale back or eliminate the Bee Hive.

• After a dose review, if the center is deemed a necessity, charge a fee for materials and staff it on a part-time basis. The current staff makes more than most paraprofessionals who work directly with children five days a week.

Administrators are non-tenured employees and therefore can be released from their positions.

With the above cuts, combined with attrition, scaling back raises, reducing the supplement, lowering your contribution to the benefit package along with a small increase in class size, you should be able to eliminate all other cuts. This will enable you to retain all other personnel and protect the integrity of the school system.

[Editor’s note: The writer has requested anonymity because of employment concerns.]