City planning to upgrade Police Headquarters ► PAGE 3
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School Board Mayors discuss fall elections next step at regional meeting of officials takes to intensify drive By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — City elections dominated discussions at the Feb. 9 meeting of the North Fulton Municipal Association held at the Avalon 1000 Building in Alpharetta. The organization, composed of elected and senior staff from North Fulton cities, meets monthly to discuss matters affecting their municipalities. Over the past month, North Fulton city councils have explored efforts to run their own municipal election this fall in the face of rising charges from Fulton County, which has traditionally managed the polling. In December, the Milton City Council voted to approve self-run municipal elections this year following the recommendation from a locally appointed election study committee. While the Alpharetta City Council approved a new city elections superintendent position, other cities are still deciding on whether to remain with Fulton County, run their own election or formally sign with other cities to seat an elections superintendent to oversee municipal elections in Milton, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Roswell and Mountain Park. The agreement, still in draft form, leaves each city to figure its way through election operations. Sandy Springs has no municipal elections scheduled for this year. The remaining cities have until the end of March to decide whether to contract
for literacy gains By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com
group’s chairman, Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul, said the association has been “going on” since he was elected, about a decade ago. “It’s mostly an opportunity for us to get together and share information, kind of talk through common problems and develop solutions, and proposals, for how we work as a region in the North Fulton area,” Paul said.
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The Fulton County School Board voted to move forward with the third edition of a program designed to sharpen instructor’s skills in teaching reading. The Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling program, which carries a price tag of approximately $1.48 million, was passed unanimously at a Feb. 7 work session and will join a block of other topics set for formal approval at the Feb. 23 School Board meeting. The curriculum designed for teachers, also called LETRS, is based on “the science of reading.” It trains teachers on “five essential pillars of reading,” phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. It also instructs on writing, spelling and oral language. The school system has already implemented versions of the program. Fulton County Schools Chief Academic Officer Cliff Jones said the third edition of the program is like
See MEETING, Page 8
See SCHOOLS, Page 8
AMBER PERRY/APPEN MEDIA
Fulton County Commissioner Bob Ellis speaks to North Fulton mayors Jim Gilvin, Rusty Paul and Peyton Jamison at the North Fulton Municipal Association’s Feb. 9 meeting. with Fulton County or embark on their own to operate polling. The municipal organization The North Fulton Municipal Association includes the cities of Sandy Springs, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Roswell and Mountain Park. A partner to the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce, the municipal organization has no webpage, so agendas or meeting schedules are not posted. The