Class-size on thin ice?

As we frequently reported during the legislative session, many education groups and a growing number of lawmakers want to see the expensive and inflexible class-size amendment scaled back.

The best they could get in the spring was a one-year implementation delay. The Senate just didn't want to go along with a more permanent House plan, and amendment supporters cried foul any attempt to "undermine" the will of the people.

With the economy in shambles, though, the Senate is looking more likely to bend than ever before, the Orlando Sentinel reports today. "During this time of historic revenue shortfall, we should look for every opportunity to provide school districts with flexibility in class size," Senate K-12 education chairman Don Gaetz, told the paper.

Gaetz is a long-time opponent of the measure, though, whose main problem with the House's spring proposal was that it might not endure court scrutiny. He wanted a more sweeping and permanent measure to go to voters.

In the meantime, the Sentinel reports that the amendment standard bearers, including U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, aren't budging much in their views. They maintain, as during the spring, that the class-size amendment is the will of the people.

"The economic issues the state and country are facing are real," Progress Florida political director Damien Filer, spokesman for the class-size campaign at the time, told the Sentinel. "By the same token, if the Legislature has spent half the energy trying to implement this instead of circumventing it, it would be implemented and funded now . . . "

Has the story really changed that much since the spring? Only in the sense that the Senate -- historically the place where class-size changes go to die -- might now use the fiscal crisis as a reason to move off the dime.

Expect a healthy debate on this as revenue continues to tumble and school districts keep looking for places to cut. Many, such as Pasco, already have frozen implementation of the amendment at the school level with few complaints. If it's not broken ...

Comments

Many good points were raised in these comments. However, what about the "inclusion" movement as well. These are driving basic education classroom numbers up as well. Even with two teachers in the same room, many inclusion students are still struggling because of this model. In addition, some classrooms are nearly 50% ESE. Is that fair for those students who are not learning disabled or have behavioral problems? As a parent, I say no. Smaller classes, more classes, would reduce these numbers as well as make teaching more manageable.

The parents need to speak to people like Gaetz.

[fla teacher]

Parents will be up in arms if we are forced to go back to classes of 30 or more. It is often one of the first questions I am asked on Meet the Teacher Day. As a teacher, I will certainly be able to do less for more children. But I don't think the Legislature really cares about the children of the state of Florida as it is.

[Then what?]

Right now HS teacher have 6 periods a day of about 24-27 students per class due to the amendment. That is about 150 students, which is a huge number. If they go back on the amendment, it would be impossible for HS teachers to keep up with 30-35 kids a period on the six period day for them. There is NO way a HS teacher could effectively teach, grade, and communicate with about 180 students a day. If we get rid of the amendment, then we would have to get rid of the 6/7 schedule.

We need an administrator:pupil ratio!

Class size reduction is not needed to keep administrator salaries down. It was passed because most citizens thought that it would lead to a tremendous increase in state funding for public education in general that would directly relate to improved classroom experience. Unfortunately, Rubio (with terminator's loving approval) cut the state's contribution to the public schools by 14.5% while the costs of CSR increased by over $500 million during the same period. We need to elect legislators who will both swear to uphold the constitution and will actually live up to thier word. terminator needs to get his head out of the sand and realize that there won't be better salaries or smaller class sizes as long as the Legisalture's only goal is to provide public education on the cheap as its only goal.

[terminator]

class size can be modified but not eliminated (that's the line in the sand).
what was done this year was reasonable, however these wasteful large school districts can't be let off the hook.
they've got plenty of money to pay fatcat administrators excessive executive compensation, plenty to deny teachers and school employees their contractually negotiated raises, plenty to p*ss down the drain on useless programs.
Gaetz would be making a huge mistake to go beyond what's been done this past year.
Normally I respect him but would not support him on this one.
Is this Senator Gaetz talking or Jeb and his minions at Foundation for Florida's future talking?

[Duh...]

The Class Size Ammendment forces principals to have teachers teach out of field. I don't think the people thought this through when voting in favor of this. Having a smaller class size is not going to make the Band Director a better Language Arts teacher.

Jeb Bush said that CSR would bankrupt the state. He was wrong. HIS POLICIES AND HIS BUDDIES AT LEHMAN BROTHERS BANKRUPTED THE STATE. Now, they will use their actions to ignore the Constitutioon. Well, they never really liked following it before, so at least they created an excuse.

Quit it with this Gaetz guy already. He is a tool.

Check out the county he used to "run." The school system is in shambles. The dude cut and ran just in time.