Board of Education

Fayette BoE told system is running ahead of budget

The Fayette County Board of Education at its Feb. 13 meeting heard a report on the current budget outlook presented by Comptroller Laura Brock. The January financial report showed that the school system is projecting a June 30 general fund balance of $13.856 million.

Brock said the school system is currently $4.27 million under budget with seven of the 12 months having been completed. Of that amount, $2.27 million comes from savings in salaries while $1.99 million represents savings in benefits. Read More»

Fayette school budget examination may include look at schoolbus drivers

Fayette County schoolbuses parked behind the central office in Fayetteville. Photo/Ben Nelms.

Questions have arisen about the salaries and benefits received by bus drivers working in the Fayette County School System. Bus drivers are among the lowest paid of the more than 3,000 school system employees, but the benefits they receive — most of which are paid by their employer — may make the part-time job one that is desirable for many. Read More»

Fayette tax digest drops 8%

Decline in value of property translates into lower income for local governments

The tax digest numbers are in and they forecast more belt-tightening for all Fayette County governments in 2012. Read More»

Fayette school system eyes cutting 72 school employees

Superintendent Jeff Bearden. File photo.

With income dropping, numbers of students declining, budget deadlines approaching, and the easy expense cuts already made, the Fayette County Board of Education Monday night heard the first, but likely not the last, proposal intended to trim sufficient funds from the people side of the budget for next year. Read More»

Fayette Commission signals no lawsuit settlement

It is almost a certainty that the Fayette County Commission and the Fayette County NAACP will be duking it out in federal court.

The commission announced last week that it intends to keep the at-large voting method for all five county commission seats. That is the exact opposite of the remedy sought by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in a lawsuit filed in August against the county commission and also the Fayette County Board of Education. Read More»

Turf wars ahead?

A petition showing support for installing artificial turf fields at all five high schools in Fayette County was in the lobby of McIntosh’s gym last Friday night during the McIntosh-Starr’s Mill basketball games. Photo/Michael Boylan.

High school sports supporters seek $3.2 million from School Board for synthetic turf at all 5 stadiums

A petition drive is underway to gauge community interest for installing synthetic turf at the large athletic fields at all five Fayette high schools.

Supporters are hoping to collect 5,000 signatures in a bid to have the estimated $3.2 million cost added to the next education sales tax program proposed by the school board, said organizer Sally Herman, a parent of two lacrosse players at McIntosh High. Read More»

Fayette legislators decry BoE’s district voting change

Representative Matt Ramsey (R-Peachtree City) in a file photo from March 2011.

State Rep. Ramsey: ‘Some fights are worth fighting’

The seismic shift in Fayette County school board politics — enacted last week by the Fayette County Board of Education — can’t be undone by the Georgia legislature, according to Rep. Matt Ramsey, R-Peachtree City.
Read More»

Questions remain about new Fayette BoE district voting map

The new voting district map based on the 2010 Census was approved last week by the Fayette County Board of Education. Read More»

Fayette school officials lunch with legislators

Fayette school officials lunch with legislators

Members of the Fayette County Board of Education at a legislative luncheon on Jan. 6 spent time with state lawmakers. Among those joining the school board and central office staff were Rep. Virgil Fludd, Rep. Matt Ramsey, Rep. John Yates and Sen. Valencia Seay. Superintendent Jeff Bearden at the luncheon talked about full funding of the education formula, supporting the vision of public education and the need for local boards to maintain their authority. Photo/Ben Nelms.

Change to district voting may make recall of officials problematic

The switch to district voting by the Fayette County Board of Education will deprive voters of their current ability to participate in the removal of any local elected official from office via a recall procedure.

Under current Georgia law, a registered voter must live in the district for the office in which that official is seated to sign a recall petition.

So under the new district voting scheme, the only way a voter can participate in a recall effort is if he or she lives in the same district as the board member who is the subject of the recall petition. Read More»

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