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Highlands Today

Budget Crunch May Affect Class Size Amendment

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By MARC VALERO

Highlands Today

Published: October 19, 2008

SEBRING - Floridians voted for smaller class sizes in 2002, but tough economic times coupled with a statewide budget crisis may delay or halt full implementation of the Class Size Amendment.

The final stage of implementation of the Class Size Amendment requires the prescribed student limits be met in every classroom.

As state education funding dropped, school districts cut teachers and staff. But, class-size implementation at the classroom level would require funding for more teachers and classrooms.

The Class Size Amendment limits the number of students per class to 18 in pre-K through third-grade, sets a limit of 22 students in fourth- through eighth-grade and sets a maximum of 25 students in grades nine through 12.

Implementation began in 2003-04 with district-wide averages requiring districts that were over the limits to reduce class-size averages by two students per year.

The 2008 Legislature extended the calculation at the school level (delaying the per class requirement) for an additional year from 2007-08 to 2008-09.

The Florida School Boards Association (FSBA) calls for compliance based on the average class size at each school for each of the grade groupings and that the number of students in any individual classroom may not exceed the constitutional limit for any grade grouping by more than five students.

School Board of Highlands County Assistant Superintendent of Business/Operations Mike Averyt said more teachers and classrooms would be needed for classroom-level implementation.

"If they cut our revenue, how do they expect us to stay on the implementation schedule - there's just no way we can do it," he said. "On average we are fine.

"When you go to classroom-by-classroom there are a lot of classrooms that are above the average, not much above it, but above."

There's no flexibility, Averyt said, if you have one student over the limit in a class you are not in compliance.

Mark Pudlow, spokesman for the Florida Education Association (state teachers union) said, "we want to see it fully implemented; we feel as though it has been put on hold a couple of times.

"We really feel there's a possibility that there are going to be political leaders who are going to say 'we can't afford to go any further; we can't afford to take the last step and bring it down to the classroom average.'"

The FEA understands these are bad economic times and that it is costly, Pudlow said. The political reality is that final implementation may have to be delayed another year, but it must be fully implemented when the economy turns around.

"I know there is going to be action in the Legislature this year about class size," he said. "We just want to make sure that the bad economic times is not used as an excuse to gut the Class Size Amendment."

Smaller class sizes help teachers have firmer control of their class, Pudlow said. Students have more individual time with teachers.

The FEA believes the increase in standardized test scores in the past few years is due to smaller class sizes.

Marc Valero can be reached at 863-386-5826 or mvalero@highlandstoday.com.

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