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Schools

$1.1B extra sought for schools

More than half of the Board of Education's request is to reduce class size, but the Legislature is unlikely to fund it fully.

By RON MATUS
Published August 17, 2005

TALLAHASSEE - The board that oversees public education in Florida wants $1.1-billion more for schools next year, with $600-million aimed at reducing class size and little left over to start new initiatives or strengthen existing ones.

"Class size is simply the budget Pac Man," Education Commissioner John Winn said Tuesday, shortly before the Board of Education approved a proposed $19.3-billion budget for public schools, community colleges and the state's 11 universities.

Winn was referring to the 2002 class-size amendment, which requires the state to pick up the multibillion-dollar tab to slim down overcrowded classrooms.

If approved by the Legislature, the proposed education budget would eat 92 percent of the projected new revenue for all of state government. The proposed class-size allotment alone would gobble up 40 percent.

Given other state needs, the board's request is unlikely to fly, which could put districts in a bind. But state education officials, who dislike the amendment and hope for one more stab at repealing it, said new sources of money are out of the question.

"The state doesn't print money," said board chairman Phil Handy, a Winter Park businessman.

No, said Rep. Shelley Vana, a Palm Beach County Democrat, but it could reprioritize spending by not offering hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks each year and splurging on pet projects.

"We haven't ever made a real attempt at funding this thing," she said.

On a related issue, state education officials aren't backing down from a recent policy shift regarding co-teaching, the practice of using more than one teacher in the same classroom.

In June, the board said that beginning next fall, districts can no longer count co-teachers toward the strict class-size caps set by the amendment. In response, some districts say they will have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars building classrooms or, more likely, put some schools on double sessions.

"It's not a nice option," but it's a realistic one, Handy said.

Vana's response: "They're going to make it as painful as possible."

Some lawmakers have said in recent weeks that they will pursue legislative solutions so districts aren't penalized by the board's stance on co-teaching. But a key legislator indicated this week that he strongly supports the board's position, meaning any such proposals could be in for a fight.

"From every legal opinion I've heard, (co-teaching) isn't going to pass the smell test" in helping reduce class size, said state Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, who chairs the House Education Council.

Tuesday's proposed education budget calls for $15.9-billion for PreK-12, an 8 percent increase from last year. Much of the increase is needed just to keep up with growth, with an expected 57,000 new students pushing the state's total past 2.7-million.

The Board of Education wants to spend more for reading training for middle and high school teachers and growth in the state's fledgling Prekindergarten program. It also has earmarked $10-million for middle school reform.

But class size is the big dog. The board is requesting $2.1-billion in operating expenses for class size, a 39 percent increase from this year.

The board's proposal does not include money for building classrooms.

Ron Matus can be reached at 727 893-8873 or matus@sptimes.com

[Last modified August 17, 2005, 01:21:29]