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Lawmakers look to fulfil class size amendment

By LETITIA STEIN
Published April 20, 2006

TALLAHASSEE - Florida lawmakers are poised to spend $1.1-billion on new classrooms, the most the state has ever considered spending on construction to fulfill a voter-approved initiative to reduce class sizes.

For the first time, lawmakers are talking about putting aside money generated in today's flush economy to help pay for the class size mandate, which must be met by 2010-2011. Still, they also might ask voters this fall to relax the strict class-size restrictions written into the state Constitution.

The move underscores how costly reducing class size could become, which is one reason Republican leaders have never liked the initiative.

"It's never too early to start planning for the chaos that's going to occur," said Rep. Joe Pickens, R-Palatka, chairman of the House education funding committee.

Even with the $1.1-billion, school districts would still be behind. Today, they face about $4.5-billion in unmet needs for classrooms, according to the Florida School Boards Association.

"We don't have the money to build the hundreds and hundreds of extra classrooms that are needed," said Douglas Forth, Pinellas County's assistant superintendent for budgets. "Any local district would welcome the contribution from the state."

Before now, the Legislature had allocated more than $700-million for classroom construction.

The $1.1 billion would give students, parents and teachers a taste of the money that could eventually flow to local schools as smaller class sizes are phased in. For example, Hillsborough would get between $82- to $92-million, said Jim Hamilton, chief of staff for the school system.

Supporters of the class size amendment call the $1.1-billion infusion overdue. They say the Republican-controlled Legislature has put as little money into the initiative as possible for the past three years.

"This kind of commitment is what was needed from the start," said Mark Pudlow, spokesman for the Florida Education Association, the state teacher's union. "It's great that they've finally realized that they have a responsibility in the class size amendment to fund construction."

The amendment states class sizes must be reduced to 18 students in grades prekindergarten through three, 22 students in grades four to eight, and 25 students in grades nine to twelve.

In past years, the bulk of state funding for class size has been spent on paying teachers. Both the House and Senate are considering spending about $2-billion for such operating costs this year.

Currently, the House and Senate would distribute the dollars under different formulas. The Senate's plan is better for fast-growing school systems, like Hillsborough, while the House's version could benefit Pinellas' stable student population.

"I hope it's a sign of what's to come," said Senate Minority Leader Les Miller, D-Tampa.

In recent years, Senate Democrats have fought efforts to ask voters to water down the class size amendment. So far, they and a handful of Republicans have been able block Gov. Jeb Bush and those in the GOP leadership who would like to ask voters to rethink the decision.

This year, lawmakers again are debating a proposal to put on the ballot this fall a plan to loosen the class size caps. Once again, it's an uphill battle to get the votes to pass it in the Senate.

To come up with the 1.1-billion, House and Senate lawmakers would take as much as $500-million from a pot of construction money that state universities and community colleges also rely on. Needless to say, they're not happy.

University system chancellor Mark Rosenberg said it's a "robbing Peter to pay Paul strategy." Since higher education also faces significant future building needs, he considers the plan to be "addressing one classroom shortage and creating another."

But lawmakers point out that budgets are flush for the coming year. The contested pot of money for public education construction, derived from utilities taxes, will see $480-million more than previously estimated, state officials learned last month.

Higher education institutions have "an insatiable appetite," said Senate President Tom Lee, R-Valrico.

For the first time, lawmakers also are talking about saving money for the future costs of the amendment. Incoming House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, wants to set carry more than $3-billion from today's fat coffers. The money could pay for class size costs in leaner years.

In the Senate, Lee also proposes to save $1.5- to $2-billion for the state's future needs.

"The day of reckoning is upon us," Rubio said. "We're going to have to start paying for it."

Times staff writer Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler contributed to this report. Letitia Stein can be reached at lstein@sptimes.com or 850 224-7263.

[Last modified April 20, 2006, 21:57:02]