Here goes the class size debate ... again

The class size amendment's smaller classes are supposed to take effect in 2010, but Florida Republican senators are trying to stop that from happening. Their attempts aren't new, but this time around they might have more political traction thanks to the state's projected 2010-11 budget deficit of more than $2 billion.

Hypothetical floor debate: "How can we spend this money on new classrooms when we're laying off teachers?"

Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, yesterday filed a proposed resolution for a constitutional amendment that would repeal the class size changes pushed successfully by Dems (including current U.S. Senate candidate Kendrick Meek) several years back.

Suit: State is failing schools, violating Constitution

Not enough money. Not enough progress. Florida is violating the state Constitution by not pouring enough money into schools and relentlessly focusing on high-stakes testing policies that aren't getting good results, says a lawsuit expected to be filed today in Leon County Circuit Court.

Prepared by a team of lawyers that includes a former Democratic House speaker and a Republican Party patriarch, the suit takes aim at virtually every aspect of the sweeping education overhaul engineered by former Gov. Jeb Bush and kept largely intact by his successor, Gov. Charlie Crist.

Low graduation rates, stagnant test scores, a persistent effort by lawmakers to shift education costs to school districts — all of it shows Florida is not living up to a constitutional mandate to provide high-quality schools, the suit says.

Some of the suit's roots go back to last spring's budget cuts, when everything from music programs to teaching assistants were considered for the chopping block, said Kathleen Oropeza, co-founder of an Orlando-based parents group listed as a plaintiff.

"The first question we asked amongst ourselves was, 'What can we do to fix this?' " Oropeza said Tuesday. "It always came back to legal action."

(Story here)

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Exchange offers window into Hometown Democracy debate

The already heated debate over Amendment 4, known as Hometown Democracy, got hotter than a summer day in Tallahassee Thursday at Capital Tiger Bay, as presenters on each side offered a window into the issue fthat has polarized growth advocates and reform activists across the state.

Leslie Blackner, the Palm Beach County attorney and one of the authors of the ballot initiative that will ask voters to require that changes to a county's comprehensive growth management plan get voter approval, called the measure "a very simple thing.'' It gives voters veto power and "only affects comprehensive plans."'

On the opposing side was Ryan Houck, director for the Chamber of Commerce-supported group called Floridians for Smarter Growth. He summed up the issue as "a great problem, wrong solution,'' because "everything will be voted on."

"It’s like taking a two by four to a fruit fly,'' he said "You’re probably going to miss the fly and do a lot of damage in the process."

Penny tax/class size idea 'in the oven'

Wondering what has become of that idea last week for a combined constitutional amendment on the penny tax for education and the move to loosen class-size standards?

Sen. Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville, says they're working on it, but have to get past these budget discussions.

"It's still in the oven," said Wise, chair of the Senate preK-12 appropriations committee. "We just gotta make sure that we cook it all the way."

Despite a cool reaction to the idea from House Republican leaders, Wise said, "It's somehing that we're still considering and the president of the Senate is considering, and when we get a go ahead, we'll go ahead."

Andy Ford, president of the Florida Education Association, said they're still look at the idea, too: "We have polled the issue and we'll talk about that next week."

Redistricting campaign staffing up

Forget the senate and gubernatorial races. The biggest race of all in 2010 may be the campaign to change the way legislative and congressional districts are drawn in Florida. FairDistrictsFlorida has signed up a couple pros from Barack Obama's Florida campaign - former deputy state director Ashley Walker and former general election director Jackie Lee - to run the redistricting campaign. Lee and Walker have started their own consulting shop, Sunstream Strategies.

Beware Employee Free Choice Act!

The SEIU has a hoot of a video response to critics of the Employee Free Choice Act, or "check card" proposal that may be the subject of a constitutional amendment for Florida.

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Fierce union fight coming to Tallahassee

The debate in Washington over the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it much easier to unionize, is coming to Florida. House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, R-Delray Beach, and state Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples, are pushing for a constitutional amendment to require secret ballots in federal, state and local elections and decisions of employee representation. If passed, they say the amendment would supercede the federal “card check” statute under debate.

“Casting a vote free of threats, harassment or intimidation is the most basic of democracy’s principles,” Hasner said in a statement. “Currently, there is a political effort in America to erode and subvert these fundamental rights, and Floridians’ right to a secret ballot is under attack and must be protected. This is not an anti-union bill. Harassment and intimidation are wrong, whether they come from a union boss or a management boss. With a secret ballot, you’re the boss.”

Reconsidering the class-size amendment

It comes as no surprise, but here's the news: Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, has filed a resolution that would have Florida voters reconsider the class-size amendment.

Simply put, Weatherford's proposal, which would require support in the House and Senate, would stop the state's class-size reduction effort at the school average. It also would set a cap for student enrollment per classroom slightly above the average.

More at the Gradebook blog.

Jeffrey S. Solochek, Times Staff Writer

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Time to abolish Lt. Gov. job?

Martin Dyckman argues no: The real issue is to make better use of the lieutenant governor. There can be more to it than ribbon-cutting. The law permits him or her to head any of the governor's departments without Senate confirmation (or additional salary). ... In other words, it is the governor who is responsible for whether the lieutenant governor is worth nearly $350,000 a year in salary and travel expenses. As Charlie Crist's skin seems to be made of Teflon, the voters will probably forgive him this, too. But let them at least remember it the next time they elect a new governor.

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Calif. tailpipe rule hits speed bump in Florida

A legislative committee dealt a setback to Gov. Charlie Crist's climate team Monday on his goal of adopting California's vehicle emission standards in Florida. The panel agreed with its staff that the Department of Environmental Protection's attempt to adopt the California standard by rule -- without legislative action -- is an "invalid exercise of delegated legislative authority" that would "vest unbridled discretion in the agency."

A lobbyist for automakers urged the panel to block DEP from acting, noting that tougher standards are likely to happen anyway at the federal level at President Obama's insistence. "This is the wrong year to address this issue," said Wade Hopping of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.   

The unanimous vote by the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee followed a motion by Sen. Charlie Dean, R-Inverness. The other members of  this panel include Sen. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa; Rep. Rob Schenck, R-Spring Hill; Rep. Marlene O'Toole, R-Lady Lake; and Rep. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville.

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