Senate passes class size plan

The bill would require school districts to start reducing or risk losing money.

By STEVE BOUSQUET, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 20, 2003

TALLAHASSEE -- On the campaign trail last fall, Gov. Jeb Bush warned voters that the price of the class size amendment would "block out the sun."

But the sun was shining Wednesday as the Senate took the first major step to carry out the voters' will, and for less money than Bush estimated.

By a 38-0 vote, senators passed what members of both parties called a "common sense" solution to reducing class size. The bill requires school districts to start reducing the number of pupils in each class to comply with the amendment or risk losing operating money. Tougher sanctions would be imposed in future years if they don't comply.

The first major legislation the Senate has passed this year, it was a signal to Bush and the House: Senators want to carry out the public's will and not seek to repeal the amendment as Bush suggested. Final decisions on the cost are weeks away.

"We took the challenge. We came up with a bill. We think the bill will work," said Senate President Jim King, R-Jacksonville.

The amendment, approved by voters in November, requires by 2010 no more than 18 students per classroom in pre-K through third grade, 22 pupils in grades 4-8 and 25 students in high school.

Cost projections will keep changing, but the $27-billion price tag for the seven-year implementation of Amendment 9 -- a figure that prompted candidate Bush to run a TV ad warning of a possible state income tax -- is no longer mentioned.

Using updated information on classroom space provided by all 67 school districts, the Senate has calculated that $464.6-million will be needed next year to hire enough teachers to enforce Amendment 9. Relying on older projections, Bush recommend $628-million two months ago.

More recent data from the Department of Education show the state will need 2,600 additional classrooms next year. That's less than a third of the 7,000 classrooms state economists calculated nine months ago when the $27-billion figure surfaced.

"I think the first estimates were purposefully calculated to be as high as possible to convince people not to vote for it," said Pasco superintendent John Long. "So I'm not surprised the numbers are coming down."

Education Commissioner Jim Horne said school districts should be patient because it's still early in the legislative process.

"It may come down to where we don't need to spend as much, but I would caution everybody from jumping to conclusions," said Horne, a former state senator. "I know the governor is not convinced that we have a clear picture yet, and voila, we can take care of everything. I know I'm not."

The cost estimates likely will keep changing. Yet another set of figures on classroom space, the Florida Inventory of School Houses, is expected in a few weeks.

"Depending on what permutations you use, the price is going to vary," said Rep. David Simmons, R-Longwood, chairman of the House budget subcommittee on education. "If you run different alternatives, you're going to get different numbers."

The House has not released its bill to implement the amendment, but its estimate of the first-year operating costs is $315-million, even lower than the Senate's. The figure was derived from assuming that classrooms would be used 90 percent of the time and by expanding a program that gives tax breaks to businesses that pay for vouchers so students can switch to private schools. The Senate opposes expanding vouchers.

King foresees difficulty in reaching agreement.

"The funding differences are a problem, and I think the House is probably going to add an extensive voucher system," King said.

The Senate bill proposes borrowing $1.4-billion to pay for classroom construction. That's about half the size of Bush's borrowing program. No similar figure from the House has been proposed.

Education Commissioner Jim Horne said school districts should be patient because it's still early in the legislative process.

The Senate bill requires school boards to impose year-round schools, double sessions, an extended school year or changes in attendance zones if they have not met the class-size caps by the 2006-2007 year. The bill gives the governor power to suspend school board members who do not comply.

Bush is wary of the Senate approach, and his support of vouchers is closer to the House's thinking.

"The monies that are appropriated need to be tied to an implementing plan that is realistic," said Bush, who objected to what he called "draconian" solutions such as year-round schools.

-- Times staff writers Lucy Morgan and Stephen Hegarty contributed to this report.

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