Opinion: Smaller classes will help students succeed in school

This story noted that Gov. Jeb Bush "adamantly opposes the class size measure . . . and has cited a study that found no correlation between smaller classes and learning." Does anybody know what study came up with such a conclusion? People are always saying, "Studies show . . ." in reference to education, but we are never given a chance to see these studies for ourselves. It reminds me of that old radio commercial:

"Studies show that nine out of 10 doctors smoke Camel cigarettes."

The last often-quoted "study" said that buying computers for classrooms was more cost-effective than maintaining class size. Unfortunately, in some schools, class sizes have gotten so high that the computers had to be moved out to provide room for more desks!

I've been a teacher for 32 years. I conducted my own study the other day. I have four classes of "average" students. In the class that has 20 students, I have no grade lower than C. In my other classes, which have from 27 to 30 students, I have 30 percent earning D's and F's. In the smaller class, I have time to teach and answer questions. In the larger classes, I spend most of my time on discipline, and the only question I have to answer is, "May I use the bathroom?"

So many educators support reduced class size because we want our students to learn, to succeed in school. They are your children, my friends, not political volleyballs to be tossed and back and forth between political parties, and we all want the best for them. Don't we?
-- William F. Sutschek, New Port Richey

Will we be fooled again?

Gov. Jeb Bush wants to take "potential" revenue from another source and trust the Legislature to use it to build new classrooms. Doesn't this fall into the "fool me once -- shame on you, fool me twice -- shame on me" category?

The millions/billions from the lottery were supposed to supply all the additional revenue necessary to take care of the "extras" for schools. Instead, the state's legislators have consistently used the lottery funds to reduce the amount they need to budget for daily operations. Are we supposed to believe that suddenly the Legislature will be able to use monies specially earmarked for specific purposes in the school budget as intended?

My prediction is that if Bush & Co. pull off this farce, the Legislature will do what it always has done. It will reduce the funding for schools by the amount gleaned from the future sales taxes on cell phones, et al. The money saved will then go into the pockets of businesses and wealthy contributors through tax cuts and exemptions. Try again, Mr. Bush.
-- Rae A. Osborne, St. Petersburg

Class size amendment is needed

Re: Class size initiative.

It's time for Florida to bite the bullet and fund education. I have been a classroom teacher in Pinellas and Pasco counties for the past 20 years, and the one thing I hear most from my colleagues goes something like this: "I feel I could really reach Johnny So and So if I just had the time to get to him, but with 30 other students who all have a need to fill, I keep running out of time."

Parents have a right and a duty to ensure their children are not getting passed over in the classroom because the teacher's time is too stretched to make the individual plans for those who aren't "getting it" the first or second time around. More students mean more planning, more papers to mark, more student planners to check, more report cards to complete and more crowd control. It all takes time and it does make a difference in a student's learning. I want to go into my classroom with a smile on my face every morning. The students deserve no less.

Yes, Amendment 9, which will reduce class size, will soak up a tremendous amount of funding, but it is where we need to begin to get Florida moving in the right direction. I believe the schools will not go there without this mandate.
-- Pam Siglain-O'Brien, Palm Harbor

Be wary of amendment's costs

The class size amendment, which will be on the ballot Nov. 5, proposes to reduce class sizes. On its face, this is attractive, but there are some issues that need to be answered. Where will the money come from that will pay for this? Some estimates place the cost at approximately $27-million, with the strong possibility that it will cost even more. Certain Democrats have proposed raising $1-billion in taxes to accomplish this feat, despite there being no concrete evidence that reduced class sizes will increase a student's ability to retain the material he/she is taught.

With reduced classes, there will be a need for more schools to be built. Where will that money come from? Will this mean more "mobile" buildings on school campuses? As a parent, I know I am not ready to see that, nor do I think other parents are eager for that to occur.

Where will we find the teachers to lead these new classrooms? Florida has not been successful to date with teacher retention. How will we entice new teachers to move to the Sunshine State?

How will we hope to raise teachers' pay if we are building new schools and busy recruiting new teachers? Would it be more important to raise a present teacher's pay or pay for class size reduction?

The one move that Democrats are so quick to dismiss that would reduce class size (and already has been proven constitutionally sound by the U.S. Supreme Court) is vouchers. Democrats and/or liberals are quick to state that vouchers take money out of the public school system. Yes, they do, but only for that student.

I would recommend finding out all of the facts prior to Nov. 5.
-- Stacy D. Cole, president, Greater Pinellas Young Republicans, Clearwater

We all have to take care of the kids

As a home owner in Pinellas County, I plan on sending my daughter to a public school when she starts kindergarten in 2004. I would prefer she go to a Christian school, but I can't afford one. What I can afford is to help contribute to a better public education system. Our current homeowner taxes are $700 a year, and of course a little of that goes to the schools.

I would like to do my part and pay a little more in taxes if they are guaranteed to go to the school system. I think an additional $210 a year wouldn't hurt at all. It may not seem fair to homeowners who don't have children, but a village -- even the grandparents -- has to take care of its kids. There will be some who complain that the bigger the house the more taxes, but if you can afford a big house, you can afford to pay a little more for our kids.

Of course there has to be a way to guarantee that the money does go to the schools, and that other money coming from the state can't be cut (the way the state cut funds when the lottery started contributing). If every homeowner's taxes were increased by 30 percent, that should surely solve our public school woes. Just consider $210 is only $17.50 a month or about 56-cents a day: That's a can of soda. Would it have to be more? I don't know, but we have to take care of the children in our village, and a little more dedication to the children is absolutely worth it.
-- Pamela Byrd, Largo

Why should smokers be targeted?

Having served in the Marine Corps, I felt a closeness to Bill McBride. But I lost that feeling when he stated that he would finance his education bill by tacking a tax of 50 cents per pack on cigarettes. I have had it with politicians who think smokers should carry the load for all their pet projects. Supposedly 24 percent of adults are smokers. Is it their contention that only smokers will have children in the Florida school system? Why do they want to give the other 75 percent of adults a free ride and stick it to only 25 percent of the adult population? I think it is time for all smokers to take note of these politicians and let their displeasure be known at the polls. Lets get some representation that believes in equal and fair treatment!
-- Dick Barstow, Tarpon Springs

Union involvement merits questioning

Re: McBride embraces union's help, Sept. 17.

The teacher's union has supplied and is paying the salary for Bill McBride's campaign manager. The teacher's union is also supplying and paying the salary for McBride's communication director. The teacher's union, through various methods, has contributed more than $350,000 toward McBride's campaign.

In exchange, McBride wants to raise the taxes of all Floridians to give another billion dollars to education (a.k.a. teacher's union). McBride has also stated that teacher's union officials will have an office in the governor's office.

If this were a Republican candidate, the papers would be full of charges of corruption, collusion and campaign finance violations. Since it is a Democrat who is doing these things, I am sure that the St. Petersburg Times and other newspapers around the state will be writing hearty endorsements citing McBride's "creativity and strong backing of the educational lobby."
-- R. Morrison, Tarpon Springs

Irony in criticism

Re: McBride embraces union's help.

It is truly ironic that the governor derides Bill McBride's connection to the teacher's union when for his entire term he has allowed big businesses that open their checkbooks to have huge tax breaks, lucrative state contracts, privatization and unlimited access to his office.

It was thousands of teachers who voted for McBride because they know the real story that's happening in public education despite the governor's sound bites.
-- M. "Kip" Mitchell, St. Petersburg

It sounds more like school chance

Thank you for the informative articles on Pinellas County's "school choice" program. It should be quite a boost for area private schools.

In 1998, when my daughter was nearly a year old, I researched schools all over Pinellas. I talked to friends, professional acquaintances, teachers and even a few school administrators. My wife and I ended up buying a house more than 15 miles away from my work (twice as far away as our former house), but as close as I could get to the school that we had chosen. I was assured by the school system that I had moved to the correct "zone." They even gave me a map showing me where I needed to live to enroll in that particular school. My wife and I were delighted. Less than a year later, along came school choice. Now I get to pick five schools, and hope I get one of my favorites. I went from looking forward to holding my daughter's hand and walking her to a neighborhood school, to wondering if she might end up on a school bus with no seat belts.

Where is the choice?

The Pinellas School Board is actually using words like "lottery" to describe how children will be placed into schools. Picture a School Board administrator going to a car dealer where he gets to choose five dramatically different vehicles. The dealer then runs the "choices" through a lottery computer and months later calls the School Board "contestant' with the news about what sort of car the administrator gets to drive for 13 years.

Does that even sound like a choice?

School choice? Let's call it what it really is. School chance.
-- David Fraser, Clearwater

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