But in Crestwood, Mich., no such advantages exist, school officials say. Indeed, lack of public support for funding increases and a cap on local property taxes makes the issue of class-size reduction moot. Not that the issue didn't come up in the recent school board election. It would be nice to lower class sizes . . . So there's not much point in giving it much serious dialogue.
Equity is another issue that is beginning to make itself felt.
In California, some school officials have quietly expressed frustration that wealthier school districts, which already enjoyed average class sizes of 22 or 23 students, received the same level of funding per student as poorer school districts with class sizes of 30 or 32 students. Equity concerns For local school boards, the equity issue is more likely to arise when trying to target class-size reduction efforts. Given limited resources, experts say, school boards are most likely to get the biggest academic return by reducing class sizes in the primary grades, especially in those schools serving predominantly disadvantaged populations. But try to sell that argument to middle-class parents whose child will not see the benefits of that spending. The solution in Pinellas County, Fla., where rapid growth has pushed average class sizes to 28 students, was to invite parents, teachers, and the business community to join in a collaborative analysis of district finances and goals, says Deputy Superintendent Ron Stone.