Board of Education

Bearden hired as superintendent of Fayette County schools

Jeff Bearden, newly hired superintendent of the Fayette County School System. Bearden was at the Board of Education meeting Aug. 17. Photo/Ben Nelms.

Dr. Jeffrey Bearden is the new superintendent of the Fayette County School System. A unanimous vote by the Fayette County Board of Education Tuesday night was followed by the announcement after executive session that Bearden, who attended the meeting, had signed the three-year contract. He will begin the job on Jan. 3. Read More»

Coweta BoE holds millage steady for 7th year

Members of the Coweta County Board of Education Tuesday night voted to maintain the 18.59 millage rate again this year. The board also received a report on sales tax collections that decreased 6.8 percent in the past year. Read More»

Coweta schools look to extend accreditation

The Coweta County School System will soon initiate the process for its continued accreditation by SACS/CASI (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools/Council on Accreditation and School Improvement). Coweta was one of the first five systems in Georgia to receive district accreditation. Read More»

School bond tax rate to drop 52%; $177 lower on $250K home

It is nice to get some tax relief. And that will likely be the case come tax time for Fayette County property owners since the Fayette County School System’s debt service millage rate is expected to decrease by 52 percent, down to 1.65 mills.

School system Comptroller Laura Brock told members of the Fayette County Board of Education last week that the proposed debt service millage would decrease to 1.65 mills, a 52 percent decrease from the current 3.42 mills. The decrease would amount to a savings of approximately $177 on a home valued at $250,000, Brock said. Read More»

Painting got ‘boulder,’ so rocks at McIntosh are out

It was not the case of a mysterious disappearance of the “senior rocks” in front of McIntosh High School that had long been “decorated” by rising seniors. It was a case of going to extremes and learning the lesson that actions have consequences.

The object of school-spirited graffiti by rising seniors and others for many years, the large rocks positioned by the north entrance to McIntosh on Walt Banks Road have been removed after the most recent incident where far more than the rocks were involved. Read More»

Fayette BoE picks Bearden as new superintendent

It was a quick motion and vote Tuesday night as members of the Fayette County Board of Education returned from executive session and agreed to offer the job of school system superintendent to Dr. Jeffrey Byron Bearden. The vote was 5-0 and came with no discussion. Read More»

Fayette schools finalist also seeks job in Augusta

One of the three finalists for the position as superintendent of the Fayette County School System has his sights on more than one school system. Dr. Roy “Cole” Pugh is also one of three finalists for the superintendent’s job with the Richmond County School System in Augusta.

Aside from the positions in Fayette and Richmond counties, the recently retired Texas superintendent was also a finalist for the Baldwin County, Alabama, position and a semi-finalist for the superintendent’s job in Pulaski County, Arkansas, earlier this year. Read More»

Sup't. DeCotis’s parting shot tags BoE's Todd

Strife on the Fayette County Board of Education (FCBOE) has been growing the past couple of years, with some of those on both sides of a given argument demonstrably vocalizing their opinion. Now as a parting shot Read More»

Coweta schools make strides in AYP requirements

It has been seven years in the making and, for the first time since 2003, the Coweta County School System has no schools on the state Needs Improvement list and all but two schools achieved the required Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).

The AYP report released July 19 by the Ga. Dept. of Education (DOE) reflects how schools perform based on state standardized test scores. As a result of this performance, the district will no longer be required to offer initial transfers for students to schools outside of their assigned district, according to school system spokesperson Dean Jackson. Read More»

7 US applicants, but BoE picks a foreign teacher

An Australian teacher with a temporary work visa has won a Fayette County drama teaching slot over at least seven U.S. applicants. Read More»