Clayton News Daily

By Curt Yeomans

cyeomans@news-daily.com

The Clayton County Board of Education will decide at its October business meeting on Monday whether to follow the school administration's request to name the district's new, kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school -- currently under construction near Lovejoy -- after Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy.

While school system officials are asking for permission to name the new school after Cathy, some school board members have floated the idea of naming it after former school board member Eddie White, whose name was the second-most-popular suggestion among the public's recommendations.

Cathy's name was suggested 31 times during a public-input campaign, more than any other name. White's name received the second-most nominations (7).

The board members, who are pushing White's name, are advocating that the school system's Professional Learning Center in Jonesboro, be named for Cathy, rather than the new school.

The board's meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m., at the Clayton County Public Schools Central Administration Complex, which is located at 1058 Fifth Ave., in Jonesboro.

Other items on the agenda include: a vote on whether to grant the school system's request to hold this year's high school graduation ceremonies at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta for the second year in a row; and to approve a $311,110 contract with Nalley Motor Trucks to install video cameras on the district's school buses.

The Clayton County school board will also vote on a resolution to seek more funding, and class-size waivers from the State Board of Education.