September 19th 2010
Campaign Starts in Earnest to Relax Florida’s Class-Size Standards
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A new campaign is beginning in earnest to convince voters Florida’s class sizes are small enough and it’s time to let some of them get larger.
Supporters of the “Yes on 8″ campaign said their proposed constitutional amendment would give schools more flexibility to meet class-size requirements and that could save up to $1 billion a year over the next 10 years.
They argue the current class-size rules are too rigid and cost schools too much. Rep. Will Weatherford said the cash being spent to build classrooms would be better spent on teacher pay and technology.
Amendment 8 would allow schools to calculate class size on school averages instead of each room.
Weatherford calls it right-sizing the class size amendment passed by voters in 2002.
“We’ve invested $19 billion into that effort and now what we’re saying is give us some flexibility so when the 19th student shows up, we don’t have to bus them 10 miles away to another school,” he said. “We can leave them in an existing school and there may be 19 in one class, but guess what, there has to be 17 in another class to offset that.”
The current class-size requirements just entered their final phase this fall. They limit classes to 18 students in kindergarten through third grade, 22 in fourth through eighth grades and 25 in high school.
The looser standards proposed in Amendment 8 a common sense approach that’s widely supported by school administrators, said Wayne Blanton of the Florida School Boards Association.
“There is not a single principal that I’ve talked to, not a single principal in the state of Florida that has not said to me, ‘I’ve got to have more flexibility.’”
Robert Weissert of Florida TaxWatch estimates Amendment 8 would save anywhere from $350 million to $1 billion a year.
“All over the state Floridians are wondering and they ask us all the time, how can we help the Legislature in Tallahassee balance this budget without raising our taxes and without cutting the core services…And one good answer is vote yes on Amendment 8 and save up to a billion dollars per year.”
The Florida teachers union is promoting its own campaign called “Vote NO on 8.”
If Amendment 8 passes, students will suffer, said Mark Pudlow of the Florida Education Association.
“Flexibility is not a bad thing, but it’s something that can be achieved through the Legislature. If this amendment passes it’s going to mean bigger classes and less money going to the classroom.”
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Tags: Earnest, Earnest Relax
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