Collier, Lee schools meet state class size reduction requirement

Collier County Public Schools met the state's class size reduction requirement this year, avoiding fines.

Last year, district administrators anticipated the state would revise the amendment and opted to pay an about $750,000 fine rather than meet the requirement.

"Because of a possible revision, we consciously decided not to do it," said Michele LaBute, chief operations officer with the district, referring to compliance with the requirement last year.

The district could not ignore a constitutional mandate this year, she said.

In prior years, the class size reduction law was based on an average number of students in a class. Last year, the state imposed the new class size limits of 18 students in pre-kindergarten through third grade, 22 students in fourth grade through eighth grade and 25 students in ninth grade through 12th grade.

The class size reduction amendment applies only to state identified "core" classes, including math, English, science and social studies.

To reduce class sizes, the district hired an additional 200 teachers this year at a cost of approximately $13 million. It will be a recurring cost to the district to comply with the mandate, LaBute said. The law is "good to a point," but that there is no research specifically addressing the positive effects of smaller class sizes, she said.

"You have to weigh the cost," LaBute said. "In order to pay for more teachers, what are you giving up? It's a judgment call. What resources are more beneficial to student achievement?"

She said the money to pay for teachers might be better used for purchasing additional technology or educational resources. But despite the teacher costs, LaBute said, the district will comply with the law unless it changes.

She also said the requirement is easy to miss by mistake. The Miami Herald reported that neither Miami-Dade nor Broward County public schools were able to fully comply with state limits on class size. The Herald reported that last year Broward paid the state $732,000 and Miami-Dade paid $1.6 million in penalties for not meeting requirements.

"You could have one extra child be enrolled in a class and miss it," LaBute said. "In my mind those (counties) who missed it may have attempted to make it."

She said Collier checked classes daily to ensure the district was meeting the correct number of students.

Lee Schools also met the requirement this year. Spokesman Joe Donzelli said the Lee County district has been in compliance every year since the original law went into effect in 2002.

Deborah Higgins, spokeswoman with the Florida Department of Education said the approximate adjustment per student for class size penalty is $4,800 for pre-kindergarten through third grade students and $4,400 for fourth through 12th grade students. Districts can receive 75 percent of the penalty back by filing a compliance plan with the state.

The class size reduction process began Oct. 17 and is anticipated to finish around Nov. 30. Districts that didn't comply with the requirement will be notified of penalties at that time, Higgins said.