AMENDMENT 8
Class size rule is `no-win'
However you vote, don't expect many changes in the schools this academic year. But wait till next.
BY KATHLEEN MCGRORY AND CARLI TEPROFF
KMCGRORY@MIAMIHERALD.COM
Most schoolchildren are too young to vote, but the ballots cast on Amendment 8 in Tuesday's election will have an impact on their schooling.
At stake: Whether to loosen the rules on how many children can be in a single public classroom in Florida, or hold the school districts to a strict mandate.
The first option offers school districts a way out of some of the ``creative solutions'' they've come up with -- such as combining students from different grades into one classroom -- that have been less than ideal. But it might mean getting less state money in the future.
The second option keeps class sizes as they are, but will likely mean millions of dollars in fines to South Florida's school districts for not being 100 percent in compliance.
``It's like your choosing between Satan and Satan's brother,'' said Broward Superintendent Jim Notter. ``It's a no-win situation.''
Voters first approved the class size rules in 2002, enacting a Constitutional amendment to keep the student-teacher ratio low in classrooms statewide.
Kindergarten through third-grade classrooms may have as many as 18 students. Fourth- through eighth-grade classrooms are limited to 22; high school to 25.
The problem comes when a family moves to the area after the beginning of the school year, and the children enroll in school.
``In a highly transient school district like ours, an inflexible approach to class size is nearly impossible,'' said Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. ``Children do not come to elementary school in clusters of 18.''
That dilemma is what the principal at Jack Gordon Elementary in Southwest Miami-Dade encountered this fall. Each of the fourth-grade classrooms was at maximum capacity.
Then triplets showed up.
The class size caps apply only to core subjects like math, science, social studies and language arts, and differ by grade level.
Prior to this year, schools were OK if their average class size was in compliance. But beginning in August, each individual classroom in the state had to comply.
The price tag attached to meeting the requirements: $50 million in Miami-Dade; $70 million in Broward.
With funding tight -- and the state unable to provide the money it had promised -- school districts across Florida struggled to meet the requirements.
The Broward and Miami-Dade school systems turned to unconventional strategies to help meet the mandates:
• Media specialists, guidance counselors and athletic directors worked double duty teaching classes. As a result, students haven't been able to spend as much time in the media center or in group sessions with their counselor.
• In Miami-Dade, students from fourth and fifth grades were clumped into one class.
• In Broward, thousands of students were transferred into classes led by newly hired teachers six weeks into the school year.
When state legislators realized last spring that educational goals and economic realities were about to come head-to-head, they agreed to put the issue back on the Nov. 2 ballot. Voters would be given a chance to loosen the class size requirement and compliance based on schoolwide averages.
But for Amendment 8 to pass, it must be approved by at least 60 percent of voters -- a tall order for any ballot initiative.
If the amendment passes, most kids wouldn't see changes in their classroom assignments this year.
``We are not making any more changes,'' Notter said.
But school districts would be able to make some adjustments, such as dismantling some of the less popular creative solutions.
``In cases where a less-than-ideal environment was created and that reversing it would provide a degree of normalcy, we'll consider it,'' Carvalho said.
If Amendment 8 fails, the class size rules stay as they are. But that poses a financial quandary for next school year.
This year, the Broward district received millions of federal stimulus dollars, which may not be available next year. The Broward School Board also made the unpopular decision to raise taxes.
Miami-Dade did not raise taxes, and saved some of its stimulus money for next year. Still, continuing to fund smaller class sizes would put a strain on the school system's $4.5 billion budget. And it would continue to hurt elective classes, which aren't subject to the class size caps, but often keep children engaged in school.
The Florida Association of District School Superintendents is advocating for the amendment.
The state PTA and teachers' union, however, have taken a firm position against it. Both support keeping the caps -- and pushing the state Legislature for increased funding.
Although the Broward school district has not taken an official position on the amendment, Notter acknowledges the flexibility would be helpful.
Regardless of the outcome of Tuesday's vote, the state's headcount took place earlier this month. Districts not 100 percent in compliance face millions of dollars in fines.
In Miami-Dade, more than 97 percent of classrooms are in compliance. In Broward, officials say 98 percent of classrooms comply.
Close, but not 100 percent.
The vote on loosening class size should have been taken before the annual count, said Broward School Board Chairwoman Jennifer Gottlieb.
``At this point, it isn't going to change anything,'' Gottlieb said.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/30/v-fullstory/1900436/class-size-rule-is-no-win.html#ixzz14Bb9vn22
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