LAND O' LAKES —  As full compliance with Florida's class-size amendment looms this fall, Pasco County school district officials are hoping the state Legislature can help them avoid the staffing and financial turmoil they see as almost inevitable.
By October, schools in Florida are supposed to meet the class-size requirements on a classroom-by-classroom basis. Those requirements, approved by voters in 2002, are: 18 children in prekindergarten through third grade, 22 in fourth through eighth grades and 25 in high school.
"When you have a 19th child come in, you will need a portable (classroom) and a teacher," Superintendent Heather Fiorentino told the school board Tuesday. "What are you going to tell the parents when you split that class up in October?"
School districts that fail to meet the requirements could face strong penalties, including the possible removal of school board members from office.
The Department of Education "has made it clear it is a constitutional amendment, and we all must abide by the constitution," Fiorentino said.
That's where Pasco officials are hoping the state Legislature can help out. More