Pinellas' legislative wish list: more money, more class-size flexibility

NOVEMBER 16, 2009

The Pinellas school district wants the 2010 Legislature to restore per-pupil funding to May 2007 levels, according to a draft legislative program the School Board will discuss at Tuesday's workshop. Per-pupil funding for Pinellas was at $7,396 back then. It's at $6,908 now.

The district also wants lawmakers to provide more money for class-size reduction and to make the class-size amendment more flexible, including consideration of a constitutional revision "that lessens the cost of the class size amendment and provides local flexibility."

Just about everything on this year's draft wish list was on last year's draft wish list. One exception: Last year's draft said "the state should revisit the use of the FCAT to ensure that the results are used as diagnostic tools." This year's draft doesn't include any reference to the FCAT.

Posted by Ron Matus at 11:11:14 am on November 16, 2009 in

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Gradebook features education articles and insights on schools in Florida, focusing on Tampa Bay area schools. What's the latest from the Florida Department of Education? How is the FCAT being used to compare Florida schools? What's going in on in Tampa Bay schools? Get an insider's view from the Times education reporting team.

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Rebecca Catalanello covers Pinellas County schools. E-mail her: rcatalanello@tampabay.com.

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