House bill would delay class-size restrictions

TALLAHASSEE — Smaller class sizes in Florida public schools would be delayed for two years under a bill being considered by the Florida House.

Instead of meeting the strict limits this fall, districts would have until the constitutional deadline in 2010 to obey the voter-approved caps.

Lawmakers hoped to comply with the constitutional amendment by this fall and provide a two-year window to round up rogue schools.

The House measure is expected to save some of the $3.2 billion Florida Education Department officials say they need in the fall to meet the limit of 18 students in elementary classes, 22 in middle schools and 25 in high schools. That's about $533 million more than districts received this year for class-size reduction.

Also Tuesday, House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, said his chamber would not vote to increase property taxes this year to help pay for schools. Lawmakers approved a property-tax increase last year of $326 million, despite ordering local governments to cut property taxes by $15 billion over five years and putting Amendment 1 on the ballot, which could cut property-tax collections another $9 billion over that time.

In the past nine years, state lawmakers have approved $2.6 billion in property-tax increases to help pay for schools, according to a Palm Beach Post analysis.

"We've been wrong and we can't do that anymore," Rubio said. "We won't do that - not in the Florida House."

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