Smaller classes could cost $12-billion

Backers of the proposal say the number is just an estimate, and if the ballot carries a price tag, it could be different.

By ANITA KUMAR, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 8, 2002

TALLAHASSEE -- Supporters of a move to force the Legislature to reduce class sizes in Florida public schools released the first estimate of how much that would cost: $8-billion to $12-billion.

That amounts to about a half-cent of sales tax statewide each year.

The state Legislature would be responsible for finding the money if the measure makes it to the November ballot and voters approve.

Supporters of the citizen initiative said they are "not afraid of having a full and public debate about the figure," said Mark Herron, a lawyer and lobbyist for the Coalition to Reduce Class Size.

No detailed study has been conducted to determine the cost of the proposal.

The new estimate emerged Tuesday during a Senate committee hearing on a bill that would require price tags to be placed on every citizen initiative.

The cost voters would see, however, would be determined by a group of state officials who periodically estimate how much revenue the state will raise.

Gov. Jeb Bush, who has expressed serious reservations about the class size amendment, asked lawmakers at the last minute to require price tags for citizen initiatives.

Herron, who testified about the bill Tuesday before the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee, gave the estimate in response to a question.

Later, when questioned how the state would pay for smaller classes, Herron said: "If you have to raise taxes, then so be it."

The committee approved the bill 8-2. The full Senate takes up the bill today. The House approved a similar measure that differs from the Senate version.

"People voting on it deserve to know what it's going to cost," Daniel Woodring, a lawyer in the governor's office, told senators Tuesday.

But opponents say the measure would discourage voters from approving expensive proposals, like the multibillion-dollar high-speed rail system that passed overwhelmingly two years ago.

Lawmakers want a price tag to be included with all citizen-led constitutional amendments in November, including a universal prekindergarten program, a ban on smoking in restaurants and other workplaces and reducing class sizes.

The Coalition to Reduce Class Size still needs to gather more than 250,000 signatures before Aug. 6 to get the question on the Nov. 5 ballot. The group has collected 225,000 of the 488,000 signatures needed.

The coalition, led by Sen. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, based its number on a 2000 legislative analysis. This year, the Board of Education estimated it would cost $2.3-billion, but officials there now say that number is wrong.

Derek Newton, the coalition's executive director, cautioned that the price tag Herron cited was merely an estimate. "We don't necessarily agree with the entire assessment, but it's the only number that's been put on paper," he said.

Wayne Blanton, head of the Florida School Boards Association, has estimated it could cost $4-billion to $5-billion in initial construction costs for new classrooms, and almost $1-billion to pay for 10,000 to 12,000 new teachers.

A recent St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald poll shows that 78 percent of voters would support the amendment. Nearly three of every four voters say they would limit the number of students in a class, "even if it means having to pay higher taxes," which the proposed amendment does not address.

If the bill passes, the state Revenue Estimating Conference, which calculates how much tax revenue the state will generate, will come up with the cost for implementing all citizen-led amendments.

Starting in July 2003, the conference's estimate would be subject to review by the Florida Supreme Court and would apply to all amendments regardless of whether they were proposed by citizens, the Legislature or the Constitutional Revision Commission.

"I'm not sure why it is a necessity this year," said Sen. Buddy Dyer, D-Orlando, who voted against it.

The Legislature has placed a measure similar to Bush's proposal on the Nov. 5 ballot, but it applies only to future initiatives.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright