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STEPHEN HEGARTYThe governor said steep costs may force changes in the voter-backed mandate.
ST. PETERSBURG - Voters will reconsider their support for smaller classes when they see that many Florida teachers aren't getting a pay raise this year, Gov. Jeb Bush said Monday.
At a bill-signing ceremony in St. Petersburg, the governor said the class size mandate is eating up most of the new money being devoted to public schools.
"When teachers realize they're not getting pay increases, I think there's going to be a different view," Bush said.
Even as he signed into law the controversial class size bill, Bush said he wants to give voters a chance to amend or undo the constitutional mandate.
"If the people want to change their minds, I will be there with my support," Bush said. He said he would back a revised mandate that would reduce class size only in kindergarten through third grade.
Supporters of the class size amendment saw the governor's comments as a betrayal of the will of the voters.
"We had serious fiscal problems in this state with or without the class size amendment," said Damien Filer, spokesman for the Coalition to Reduce Class Size, which put the measure on the November ballot. "If he's trying to punish teachers and the voters who approved the amendment, that's ridiculous."
But Bush's message wasn't lost on Pinellas superintendent Howard Hinesley, who was at the bill-signing ceremony at St. Petersburg College's new Midtown Center for Achievement.
"People don't believe it when we say it," Hinesley said. "He said there's no money for teachers. That's pretty significant."
Several school districts are bracing for more budget cuts and warning employees not to expect raises.
Pinellas may have to cut an additional $12.5-million out of its budget, money that could have gone for teacher raises.
The amendment requires school districts to begin reducing class sizes this year.
By 2010, they can be no larger than 18 in grades pre-K through 3, 22 in grades 4 through 8, and 25 in high school.
Of the $837-million in additional funding for public schools this year, $468-million is earmarked for class size reduction.
The governor was the loudest voice against the constitutional amendment before the November election.
He said it would force the state to cut services or raise taxes. But while voters re-elected Bush by a handy measure, they also approved smaller classes.
Support for the initiative has grown in the months since.
A poll conducted in May for the St. Petersburg Times and two other Florida newspapers showed support for the amendment at 54 percent, up from 52 percent in November.
Bush was joined at Monday's ceremony by his wife Columba, Education Commissioner Jim Horne, Rep. Frank Farkas of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker and St. Petersburg College President Carl Kuttler.
He signed four education bills, including:
A bill that helps parents learn more about their child's school.
A bill that eliminates the caps on the number of charter schools allowed in each district and creates new accountability rules for charters.
"He's a great supporter of the charter schools," said George Poumakis, president of Athenian Academy charter school in Dunedin, who spoke with the governor at the bill-signing ceremony. Poumakis said he welcomes the new law's accountability provisions.
A bill staggering the terms for members of the state's new Board of Governors, which oversees the university system. The same bill allows universities to charge students a $200 nonrefundable admissions deposit.
A bill that caps the salaries that can be paid to university presidents out of public funds at $225,000. Universities can pay their presidents more, but they must supplement the salary with nonpublic dollars.
Bush said he disagrees with the salary cap, saying "I don't think that's proper policy." Nevertheless, he signed the bill.
After he left St. Petersburg, Bush flew back to Tallahassee, where he announced this year's grant winners in his family literacy initiative.
The winners include St. John Presbyterian Church in Hillsborough, which received $50,000, and the Salvation Army in Pinellas, which received $2,500.
- Staff writer Alisa Ulferts contributed to this report.