Smith said a few elementary schools in the East Zone and schools that offer special programs, such as Fort Myers High School s International Baccalaureate, were crowded although not near 120 percent capacity. A House panel already has approved the measure. Republicans hail the measure as a way to force school districts to solve overcrowding problems, like getting rid of portable classrooms. Education leaders such as Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association, said the state would be shirking its duties to help build costly new schools. In 1997, the Legislature held a special session to find a way to solve school overcrowding and eliminate the hundreds of portable classrooms planted on school campuses.
Republicans say that hasn t worked.
Overcrowded classrooms force teachers to spend too much time maintaining order and not enough time teaching our kids, Rep. Loranne Ausley, D-Tallahassee, recently said. This is our most important issue, said David Clark, spokesman for the Florida Education Association, the state s teachers union. Corporations would receive tax credits equal to the amount they contribute, as long as the total doesn t exceed 75 percent of their tax bills. The measure has already cleared three House committees. Democrats say the money should be spent raising teacher salaries and recruiting new teachers.