Fayette County Schools are big business and require careful and prudent management. They are not only big business, they are public business and as such need the active and knowledgeable attention of citizens.

There are no annual stockholders' meetings at which concerns can be aired as a vote of confidence in corporate management nor is there the single proprietor or partnership arrangement where the mistakes and fallacies of poor management are borne by only a handful of investors.

There is a single opportunity every two years to deal with a portion of the board in an electoral process that is fraught with a combination of short memories, misconceptions, egotistical behavior and broken promises.

Two great lessons loom before us as a county. First, we have to learn that there is “No Free Lunch” in that we have to pay the bill for the progressive and effective school system we want.

Second is that the county board of education will not get a blank check with which they can ineptly and without true accountability spend in a willy-nilly manner.

The terribly expensive lesson of building and opening the Starr's Mill complex lives as a glaring example. Never have so many paid so much for something they were told was going to cost so much less.

The past bond referendum is the classic example of getting a vote to spend some money and then using that vote to spend millions and millions more. What is of true significance is that the costs in excess of the bond came from other sources. This created shortfalls in other areas and led to a system that should be financially healthy but is bereft of funds to support operations beyond current.

In a county with a significantly growing tax index, should that have happened? Probably not, but that is another issue and one that should be a significant campaign issue at the next general election.

Now again, the needs of the system are undoubtedly substantial but those needs have yet to be laid out in a carefully prioritized and understandable manner. Hence, we had the failure of a referendum for SPLOST which, although I supported as an individual as an alternative to funding some necessities, was never satisfactorily explained to the voters.

The numbers never added up and the principal appeal was that someone else, namely visitors to Fayette County, would somehow lessen our tax load. A secondary appeal was that SPLOST was an expeditious way to pay for 20 plus years of capital improvements in a short period of time.

There has been a rather specific lesson in voter displeasure and distrust highlighted by the defeat of an incumbent board member, the defeat of SPLOST, the stepping down of the board chairman, the “retirement” of a none-too-popular superintendent and another board member, and a significant public outcry over both improper board meetings and unnecessary wholesale staff reassignments.

After licking their wounds for many months the board is belatedly but commendably now ready to tackle the issue of financing the future Fayette County schools. Serious business indeed... and business that has waited almost too long.

Two proposals are being studied and they require the kind of study and explanation that will take all of the time between now and November. Neither should be taken lightly and neither is a cinch to be the way to go.

I am encouraged that the board has announced it is looking for public input. That is the way the board could and should operate. It is an elected representative board, not an executive board. They defend the high ground between the voters and the school administrators. Contrary to many of their actions the board is not a substitute for professional educators nor in my view should they even claim professional education credentials as a predominate qualification for office.

What remains, and time is short, is for the school administrators, ably led by a competent and non-adversarial superintendent, to carefully define the needs of the system and for the board to carefully weigh and consider the alternatives for meeting those needs. The choice between the alternatives then is the responsibility of the voters and not the board.

I am convinced the voters of Fayette County will make a good decision once provided with the facts. The plaintive cry that “If SPLOST had passed in the first place...” is fruitless and attempts to lay at the feet of Fayette County voters the ineptness of the board and the past superintendent. It is history and can only serve to revive the distrust so evident in the past.

When the voters are invited into the decision process and not just cast in a “vote this up or down” role, then we will have schools truly representing the desires of the people who pay the bill.

With regard to the premise that “There is No Free Lunch” is the simple fact regardless of the alternative, bond or sales tax, we will pay the major portion of any projects with money from inside the county.

While there are no gates on the highways leading into the county, the highways are not the major highways such as I-75 or I-85. As a matter of fact, many of us chose the county just because it is between rather than on the interstate highways. You almost have to be coming here to get here. Our shopping centers and stores are not filled with people from outside Fayette County. Certainly there are some but the majority do not come to Fayette County to shop.

Hence, if SPLOST is the road we take, we should expect that the vast majority of the income from SPLOST will come from money that Fayette County residents spend in Fayette County. Should we pay for 20 years worth of capital improvements that should last for more than 20 years in four or five years? Another important question.

Lastly, should we pay for those capital improvements with non-tax deductible dollars (sales tax) rather than tax deductible dollars (property tax)? Clearly SPLOST is an alternative and not a panacea.

Let's all take the time to be informed. Require the board of education and the school administrators to represent us and to work for us.

Remember, we want to get what we pay for and we cannot afford to leave our schools to the exclusive management of either the board or the administrators. It's our money and they are our children.

William S. Fraim

Fayetteville

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