Article from the Orlando Sentinel

Senate is next test of class-size limit

Jason Garcia and John Kennedy
Tallahassee Bureau

April 27, 2006

TALLAHASSEE -- The Republican-led push to weaken class-size limits in Florida won preliminary approval in the state House on Wednesday, but the plan still faces a much stiffer test in the Senate, where leaders said the vote is too close to call.

The Senate today will begin its debate on the proposal, a top priority for Gov. Jeb Bush in his final year in office. A final vote is expected by the end of the week, but no one is ready to predict the outcome.

"It's a crapshoot," said Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, one of seven Republican senators who helped kill a similar measure a year ago.

The latest proposal (HJR 447) would ask voters this November to scale back the class-size standards they approved in a 2002 constitutional amendment.

In particular, it would allow school districts to calculate class size by their countywide averages, rather than by individual school. That would allow districts with some crowded schools to still meet the mandate as long as some schools were under capacity.

Under the revised standards, the maximum number of students assigned to a teacher would rise from 18 to 23 students in pre-kindergarten through the third grade; from 22 to 27 in fourth through eighth grades; and from 25 to 30 in high schools.

The amendment would also require local school districts to spend 65 cents out of every dollar they receive for operating expenses on "in-the-classroom" expenses, a controversial provision that supporters have added in hopes of persuading voters to support the less-strict class sizes.

During two hours of debate on the House floor Wednesday, Republican lawmakers argued that the original class-size amendment is inflexible and will prove too expensive to carry out. The revamped proposal, they say, would still ensure relatively small classes but also free up more money for other expenses, such as higher teachers' salaries.

"What we are trying to do is offer a flexible, smaller classroom plan that is actually implementable," said Rep. Joe Pickens, R-Palatka, the bill's sponsor.

On Sunday, an Orlando Sentinel report showed that hundreds of millions of dollars designated for class-size reduction have been diverted to cover other educational costs.

According to an internal Florida Department of Education report, only about 71 percent of the $1.5 billion distributed to counties this year to hire more teachers and reduce student-teacher ratios actually was spent that way. The rest was steered toward expenses such as administrator and substitute-teacher pay.

Democrats accused the GOP of trying to trick voters into giving up the class-size standards that they demanded four years ago by pairing it with the 65 percent mandate. Critics of the "65 percent solution" contend it could cripple school districts by forcing them to divert money from transportation, counseling and other critical areas.

They repeatedly challenged supporters to define what would qualify as in-the-classroom expenses. Republicans said they could decide that next year should the voters pass the amendment, but that they don't want to cement a definition in the constitution.

"This is about repeal of class size, and all of the sweet-sounding distractions will not change that," said Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach.

GOP lawmakers, who outnumber Democrats more than 2-to-1 in the House, easily blocked Democrats' attempts to split the class-size changes and 65 percent requirement into separate amendments and to spell out what would qualify as classroom expenses.

Final approval in the House is likely to come today. But the real focus has already shifted to the Senate, which last year rejected a similar proposal.

"I can guarantee you that it's coming up for a vote," said Sen. Daniel Webster, R-Winter Garden, who supports putting the measure back on the ballot. "But I don't think anyone can guarantee you what the vote is going to be."

While Bennett said he is likely to support the plan this year, others who opposed it last year aren't yet tipping their hand. Sen. Alex Villalobos, R-Miami, one of seven Republicans who broke ranks a year ago, said, "I'm not going to know until after I hear the debate."

For a proposed constitutional amendment to pass, three-fifths of the chamber -- 24 senators of 40 -- would need to approve, rather than a simple majority. Senate President Tom Lee, who supports the revised amendment, said he doesn't know whether backers have all the votes they need.

"I think we have a majority," Lee said. "Whether we have 24 or not, I'm not sure yet."

The measure is widely seen as a centerpiece of Bush's final legislative agenda, something that will help shape his legacy in education long after he leaves office in January.

Bush said Wednesday that he remains undaunted by polls that suggest voters want to preserve classroom limits.

"We're not eliminating class size; we've been faithful to the amendment in terms of lowering class size," Bush said.

"No one is suggest lowering class sizes are a bad thing. What we are suggesting is that it will have such a huge financial impact . . . that it will have lots of problems in the future."

Jason Garcia can be reached at jrgarcia@orlandosentinel.com. John Kennedy can be reached at jkennedy@orlandosentinel.com. Both also can be reached at 850-222-5564.