Treasure Coast educators facing both the prospect of a 10 percent cut in next year’s state education funds and a deadline to reduce student-teacher class ratios in every classroom say something’s got to give.
They want Tallahassee lawmakers to let them spend millions of dollars earmarked to hire more teachers on school operating expenses.
If they can’t, local school districts say services to students and their families will need to be cut next school year.

Local education leaders are considering non-classroom programs first. Some cost-cutting ideas include:
• Cutbacks to sports programs. Indian River County may eliminate out-of-county games for middle-school teams and not bus high-school bands to away games, said Michael Degutis, the district’s chief financial officer. St. Lucie County Athletic Director Jay Stewart has told coaches, students and parents that, “we face the distinct possibility that there won’t be any athletics next year if the budget issues aren’t resolved.”
• Further eliminating courtesy bus stops where students’ homes are closer than 2 miles to school. Some routes may be consolidated and bus service to after-school events curtailed.
• Reducing non-teaching positions, including guidance counselors.
• Renegotiating with law enforcement agencies their share of paying for school resource officers.
“I think they are going to see a great number of new teachers not hired this year and class sizes going up,” said Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association in Tallahassee.
That group and the Florida Association of School District Superintendents are calling for lawmakers to hold class-size reduction penalties in abeyance until the 2010-11 school year. That deadline is written into the state constitution, but state law calls for implementing class size reduction one year early. Lawmakers can change that deadline.
St. Lucie County — the largest school district on the Treasure Coast, with 39,000 students — would like to use state money earmarked for hiring more teachers to instead wipe out about two-thirds of what Tallahassee is expected to cut from its operating funds next year.
“This was the position of my office: Here’s $20.5 million that we can use to plug the $30 million hole, if you just let us use it,” said Tim Bargeron, assistant superintendent for business services at St. Lucie County schools.
If class-size reduction moves from school-wide averages to the individual classroom level, the financial impact for the Martin County School District is estimated to be nearly $6.8 million, district spokeswoman Cathleen Brennan said.
That is what it would cost Martin County schools in salaries and benefits for new pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers, she said.
Unions representing teachers balk at postponing getting more teachers in the classrooms.
An official for the teachers union in Indian River, Martin and Okeechobee counties said cuts to school budgets should be made elsewhere.
“The purpose of public schools is to educate children,” said Dianne Falvo, Treasure Coast Service Unit director for the Florida Education Association.
In St. Lucie County, the Classroom Teachers Association agreed to spending dollars for new teachers elsewhere only if the school district’s cash reserves run very low.
The district likes to keep a 5 percent reserve; the union joined the administration’s call to waive financial penalties for larger classes only if reserves dipped below half that amount.
“It was a compromise between us and the school district,” said union Vice President Vicki Rodriguez. “It was felt strongly that the class reduction amendment was voted in by the people for a reason.”

SMALLER CLASSES

Voters in November 2002 changed Florida’s Constitution to reduce the size of public school classes in which reading, math, science and other core academics are taught. Reductions began in the 2004-05 school year, when the state started giving districts money that had to be used to hire more teachers. Amid budget cuts expected next year, some public education leaders are asking for a year delay in meeting these goals set for every classroom by 2009-10:

•¥Kindergarten through third grade: Maximum of 18 students per teacher.

•¥Grades four through eight: Maximum 22 students per teacher.

•¥Grades nine through 12: Maximum 25 students per teacher.

— James Kirley
Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers

Tags: class size, teacher, treasure coast

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