LEGISLATORS SAY LACK OF MONEY WILL FORCE CHANGES IN CLASS SIZE GOALS

For six years now, opponents of Florida's class size reduction amendment have fretted that it would cost too much. Now, even some of the most ardent supporters share that concern. "We realize the class size amendment is good," said Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, vice chairman of Education Appropriations. "But we don't have the revenue right now." The state's economic picture was quite different in 2002, when voters approved the class size amendment. The amendment mandates that districts, by the 2010-11 school year, reduce class sizes to no more than 18 students in prekindergarten through third grade, 22 in grades 4-8 and 25 in grades 9-12. Currently, schools can meet those limits as a schoolwide average. But with the Legislature facing a multibillion-dollar budget deficit, it's clear that the class size amendment — and its hefty price tag of $13 billion to date — will not go unscathed. Lawmakers say they're likely to delay full implementation for one more year. But what comes next is causing a stir. The choices are stark:
• Put the issue back before voters, asking them to undo the classroom counts in favor of school class size averages.
• Temporarily suspend the amendment until the state has money to pay for it.
• Increase taxes and other revenue streams to cover the costs.
Senate Education Appropriations chairman Steve Wise, R-Jacksonville, is leading an effort to find a compromise. He's been holding weekly meetings with Democrats and Republicans, House and Senate members, and representatives from teacher, school board, parent and administrator organizations. The probable outcome, Wise said, will be a bill that would change the rules that govern class size — dealing with things like penalties and counting methods — paired with a revised amendment to send to voters. No one wants to kill the smaller classes, Wise said. The law simply needs to be more realistic. Many groups, including the Florida School Boards Association, are on board with a scaled-back amendment. The state's teachers union is not. "I understand this is going to cause a little bit of pain for the budget. But it's something we have to do," Florida Education Association spokesman Mark Pudlow said. "Before we start saying 'no' to everything, we have to figure out what is in the art of the possible."

http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/article976237.ece

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_educ...n-the-room.html

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/...0,7113750.story

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/200902...WSFRONTCAROUSEL

http://www.jcfloridan.com/jcf/news/local/a...ss_staff/59581/
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Thanks to Mark Pudlow for the clip and the leads.

Where there's a will, there's a way to sidestep constitution

Paul Flemming
Florida Capital Bureau

Florida's class size amendment is coming home to roost.

Full implementation hits in the 2010-11 school year. The Legislature for years has undercut the amendment's full impact on Florida public schools with various levels of chicanery. Most recently, it defined class sizes using a districtwide average of how school space was being used rather than a harder-to-hit designated number of students for each classroom.

But an unavoidable reckoning is coming with the state's legal cornerstone, the constitution. While state revenues continue to shrink, the 2002 amendment sets caps of 18, 22 and 25 children per class, depending on the grade level; one estimate last year is that it could cost around $4 billion to build the classrooms to accommodate that.

Everyone — Republicans, the teachers' union and Democrats — is in rare agreement that hitting those specific numbers is now moot. In addition, statewide student enrollment is down by 17,542 this school year, so classroom crowding isn't so grave.

But the constitution doesn't say "unless, you know, the economy's really bad."

Leave it to Tallahassee to figure a workaround. Here's how it will go down:

There will be no move to amend the constitution.

Though the penalties for failing to meet the amendment's requirements are in statute, the Legislature can put those on hold and institute a three-year reverse sunset provision.

Sure, every district in the state may be in violation of the constitution this way, but if there is no consequence for flouting the will of the voters, who cares?
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Read the op-ed and post a comment on tallahassee.com.
http://tallahassee.com/article/20090213/OP...21/1006/opinion