2 sides of class size issue see drop-off

With many absorbed in the governor's race and support for class size limits high, fundraising has slowed to a crawl.

By STEPHEN HEGARTY, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published October 8, 2002

The overwhelming public support for a citizen initiative to reduce class sizes, combined with an increasingly tight governor's race, have slowed the campaigns on both sides of the issue.

Each campaign promises to do what it takes to get its message across in the 28 days left before the Nov. 5 election. But the money to do so is in short supply.

Perhaps the biggest factor is the 70 percent support the amendment is receiving in opinion polls of likely voters.

"It's a tough sell when some people don't think we can defeat the class size amendment," said Cory Tilley, spokesman for the anti-initiative group, the Coalition to Protect Florida.

Another factor, Tilley said, is that "there's a lot of races going on, and lots of people asking for money." He still hopes to raise enough to run TV ads.

The antiamendment group formed recently, so its fundraising is just getting started, with $75,500 reported. Coalition president John Thrasher says some of its cash didn't make the recent report.

Donors include Tilley ($500), the Landon Development Corp. of Florida ($50,000) and Phil Morgaman ($25,000), a South Florida lawyer and insurance executive who recently held a fundraiser for Gov. Jeb Bush. Morgaman is president of private prep schools in Broward County and is chairman of the state's Council for Education Policy Research and Improvement.

For the proamendment group, money is hard to come by because the amendment is so popular.

"There are people who are extremely supportive who say 'Look, it's going to pass. You don't really need the contributions,' " said Damien Filer, spokesman for the Coalition to Reduce Class Size.

Filer's group has raised nearly $1.4-million, but most of it was spent collecting the signatures to get the initiative on the ballot.

The biggest contributors have been national teachers unions. The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers contributed a total of $550,000. An additional $328,000 came from the People for the American Way.

Since the initiative made it on the ballot, fundraising has slowed. The coalition's latest fundraising report lists a $10,000 contribution from a South Florida medical corporation.

Both campaigns are at a fundraising disadvantage because their main supporters also are contributing to the close governor's race.

The two campaigns are taking very different approaches.

The antiamendment group promises a sophisticated campaign featuring educators and prominent people who oppose the amendment. "I don't know if we'll get to $2-million, but we're going to have paid advertising," Tilley said.

The group has been relying on media coverage from news conferences and announcements of prominent allies. Today, for instance, the group plans a press conference featuring university and college presidents speaking out against the initiative.

The Coalition to Reduce Class Size has opened largely volunteer phone banks in major metropolitan areas in recent weeks, including one opening today in St. Petersburg. Former Vice President Al Gore attended the opening of one phone bank.

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