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You’d better pay attention!
By Al
Ruechel | 10-16-02
Elections are just around the corner
and sadly, according to the Freedom Foundation, less than one in 10
voters can tell you the meaning of the amendments on which they will
be casting their ballot. If that isn’t telling enough only 1 in 15
voters understand that once a constitutional amendment has been
passed the hands of the legislative bodies are basically tied behind
their backs. If it’s a bad amendment, if it costs too much money, if
you change your mind about it AFTER you’ve already voted, tough
luck! We are stuck with it until the next election cycle. It’s bend
over and grab your ankles time. So you had better pay attention in
your own state or you could end up paying out the nose.
That’s why so many educators are scared to death of amendment number
9. It limits class sizes in the state of Florida to very specific
numbers that can’t be changed by the legislature. According to the
state revenue department it will cost $27-billion dollars to
implement. Supporters say the number is closer to $8-billion
dollars. The entire budget for the state in 2001 was about
$50-billion. It will require the state to build 30-thousand new
classrooms and hire 30-thousand new teachers. That translates into
an expense of $4,000 per year for the next four years per family.
No one’s arguing about the need for smaller classes and better
student performance in the state. No one’s arguing the need for more
facilities and giving teachers a better environment to teach our
children. The question that haunts many educators and numbers
crunchers is that it’s tied to a constitutional amendment. Lawmakers
or local school boards can’t get in there and modify the dollars to
meet their particular needs. They must provide space for classes
based on exact numbers… period.
Now the folks who got this measure on the books in the first place
say that IS exactly what they want. They say the only way to get
smaller classes is to make it law. They say they’ve heard lawmakers
promise to improve education but haven’t seen them follow through.
Lawmakers can’t be trusted so the citizens and parents have risen up
to demand better education for their kids. This is a battle between
parents and special interests. Nothing more. And if the polls hold,
amendment 9 will likely pass 70 to 30.
Why? Because who could ever vote against smaller classes? Who could
vote against improving education in a state where the schools have
taken the back seat for so many years? Who could disagree with the
logic that parents should get what they want for their kids?
No one can argue UNLESS you read the fine print. As reported here in
this column and in other newspapers many of those involved in
gathering signatures for this amendment did not tell parents how
much this universal fix-all would cost. I was told at three
different petition-gathering sights it would only cost pennies a
day. Even the courts refused to allow the state to attach a price
tag to this measure because they said it would be unconstitutional.
Why? Because if voters knew how much it would cost they would likely
reject the idea. That’s a ruling that still baffles many.
Here’s something else to consider. What happens if one of those
classes is full and two extra kids want to take the course? Tough
luck kids. We can’t add any more desks because the constitution
won’t allow it. And what if the school hits capacity, as defined by
the new amendment 9? Better pack up your kids in a bus and move ‘em
out. There is no flexibility with a constitutional amendment. And
did you know that if the amendment passes the education department
predicts 75 percent of all those new classrooms will be in
portables?
Here’s another consideration. If we need 30-thousand more teachers
and we already have a teacher shortage now, where are the teachers
going to come from? And if we need 30-thousand new teachers and
30-thousand new classrooms is there going to be any money left for
teacher raises?
We’re not just talking semantics here. These questions scare school
administrators to death. Pinellas Schools chief Dr. Howard Hinesley
says if the amendment passes school boards won’t be able to give
teachers a penny raise or pick up their additional health care
costs. Students could be stuck in substandard portables for years.
It could jeopardize many precarious desegregation orders mandated by
the federal courts.
Dr. Karl Cutler, President of St. Petersburg College says he’s
looking at a 15 percent across the board cut in every department and
maybe even layoffs, something he’s been able to avoid for his entire
25-plus years of service. “This is the worst case of smoke and
mirrors that I’ve ever seen. This is snake oil pure and simple.”
Anne Cumberland tells me she will lose her elementary art room,
which she equipped with a kiln and pottery wheels from dozens of
fund-raisers because, under 9, those rooms would be turned into
classrooms. John Minks dropped me a line worried he will lose his
music room with no place to put all those trophies his bands have
won in national marching competitions. Amendment 9 treats art and
music programs as unnecessary frills.
Vickie, a high school math teacher, tells me, “There are so many
teachers that were so desperate for any kind of attention they
jumped on the amendment without thinking about the consequences.
They see this as a payback against Governor Bush and the FCAT
nonsense. But this is going to backfire.”
Jim, a middle school assistant principal, laments, “I’d love smaller
classes but our school needs more books, better teachers, more
technology. That won’t happen under amendment nine. Most of our
classes are well over capacity but we still managed to get an A
grade two years in a row.”
Of course, all these folks could be wrong. This amendment could be
the best thing to happen to Florida education in decades. It could
be the kick in the pants Florida needs to get off our butts and
actually do what we say we want to do with education.
It’s your choice. But, if this amendment passes and the tax man
comes a knocking, which he will, you had better keep your big fat
mouths shut and open your wallets with a smile and pull out those
dollars for education. This won’t be the lottery. You don’t get a
ticket, a shot at a million bucks. What you will get is smaller
classes. And for the economic sake of Florida and the future of our
kids you had better pray it’s the silver bullet those petitions
organizers and lawmakers from Miami promised.
Al Ruechel, copyright 2002, all
rights reserved
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