TALLAHASSEE – Senate President Jeff Atwater said Friday the
Legislature was unlikely to pass out any attempts to weaken the
school class-size reduction amendment that was embraced by
Florida voters in 2002.
The Senate is weighing an idea to ask voters to essentially freeze
the phasing-in of the amendment at the school-level in stead of at
the individual class-level, tied to a 1-cent sales tax increase to
help finance construction of school space. The House wants to
simply water-down the requirement without the higher tax. But
Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, said the ideas might be better off
simmering for another year before lawmakers placed any classsize
modification on the 2010 ballot.
“I don’t know that I see it as likely for this session," he told the Capitol Tiger Bay Club Friday in Tallahassee. "There will be another year to go before we would see it on the ballot. I think more than likely it will continue to be discussed and that legislators will assess whether the people of Florida are ready to embrace holding in place or going the complete distance.
“More than likely that will not be (placed) on the ballot" this session.