Who's "for the kids"? The battle over Amendment 8 pits the Florida School Boards Association against the Florida Education Association.
One represents the taxpayers; the other fronts for the teachers. And they're taking opposite sides on Amendment 8, which would maintain class-size formulas at school-level averages.
The FEA wants school districts to take the next step and lock in pupil-teacher ratios at each individual classroom. That's what the original 2002 class-size amendment ultimately called for, and reneging on that promise will shortchange academics, the FEA argues.
But, after eight years of successive tightening, nearly every school board in the state says taking that final step doesn't pass the cost-benefit test. The elected boards voted twice in the past year to support Amendment 8. They say its passage will permit the continued, common-sense flexibility of the current class-size law and save hundreds of millions of dollars in the process.
Wayne Blanton, executive director of the FSBA, says the defeat of Amendment 8 will mean one thing: "Hiring more teachers."
Blanton predicts that would require "another $1 billion," likely necessitating tax increases at the state or local levels, or both.
Since Florida voters approved the original class-size amendment on the eve of the state's economic and growth boom, state and local officials have spent more than $15 billion to pay for class-size reduction programs. The academic results are debatable, educators say.
Mike Lannon, superintendent of St. Lucie County schools, has said research does not support the notion that lower class sizes after third grade yield significant gains in student achievement.
Lannon's school board is among those that voted to support Amendment 8 and keep class-size ratios in place.
In balancing costs with class sizes, Blanton told Sunshine State News that the FSBA "respectfully disagrees" with the FEA. Others suggest that the union is driven more by a desire to expand membership rolls than by any professed concern for educational quality.
Even Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink, who is heavily funded by the FEA, supports Amendment 8 on her website -- though she does not widely advertise that position.
Opponents have flung wild charges that classrooms will swell to "30 or more" students if Amendment 8 passes. But according to the state Department of Education, such theoretical expansions could only occur in non-core high school courses -- no different than what is currently allowed by the class-size law.
With voters tuning in to the issue, as much as 20 percent of the electorate has yet to form a firm opinion.
Blanton said internal polling shows 54 percent of Floridians favor Amendment 8, though other surveys show support slipping under 50 percent.
Sixty percent is required for passage, and Blanton said "heavy ads" are hitting the South Florida airwaves this week.
"That's where much of the support for (the original amendment) came from," he explains.
Much of the funding for the pro-Amendment 8 advertising campaign is coming from a political committee headed by Florida Chamber of Commerce President Mark Wilson. The Protect Our Constitution PAC, which funds a variety of causes, reported raising $3.6 million through Oct. 8.
A group called Vote No on 8 has collected $1.2 million, including $1 million from America's Families First, a liberal fund-raising group based in Washington, D.C.
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Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341
