Class Size Limits

Although the Foundation Program does not prescribe class size limits, its does clearly set teacher allocation divisors for all 13 grade levels (K-12). The formula takes into account a state average for Special Education and Vocational students. Initially, the State Department of Education advised local boards that maximum class sizes would fall under the guidance of SACS standards. These numbers were high in comparison to the divisors that had been set by the legislature and the annual appropriation. Studies were initiated and data were collected during the 1995-96 and 1996-97 school years to determine feasible and appropriate class size caps for each grade level based on the earned teacher units being made available through the Foundation Program and the state appropriations.

In September of 1997, the Alabama State Board adopted a resolution setting class size caps for each grade level K-12. Implementation for grades K-6 was set for January of 1998 and full implementation of the caps for all grade levels was targeted for the 1998-99 school year. The class size caps (enrolled students) were set as follows:
Grades K – 3:       18 students
Grades 4 – 6:       26 students
Grades 7 – 12:     29 students

In the 1998-99 school year, every classroom in the state was surveyed and analyzed with respect to enrollment and the ability to meet the class size caps. The State Board of Education took the position that teachers foundation units should be placed at the various grade levels based on the ADM. The study of 1998-99 found that 40% of grades K-3 were out of compliance and that many of the higher grades were out of proportion in terms of teachers assigned in excess of the student enrollment at these upper grade levels. Basically, this meant that most systems had sufficient foundation units hired through the use of state funds but not all of the units were placed where the populations of students resided. For the 1999-2000 school year, further mandates were emphasized to local school systems out of compliance in order to address these disparities. Also, the state budget for FY00 included funding for additional teacher units to help address these needs.

PUBLIC SCHOOL FUND

The state collects revenue from at least fourteen (14) sources that are collectively known as the Public School Fund (PSF). Basically, this is a 3-mil state ad valorem tax (for full discussion: reference, A History of Educational Finance in Alabama 1819-1986, 1989, Ira W. Harvey, pp. 71-86). In recent years, this amount has reached $80 million. Funds are distributed to local systems on an ADM basis. These moneys are to be used for capital outlay needs and many systems use the funds for repairs and renovation of existing structures. Local systems were barred from using their state PSF dollars to issue warrants or secure additional money through bonds.

In 1998, the issue of “Portable Removal” gained high attention. Over the years, many school systems felt forced to build portable classrooms to accommodate growing student populations. Systems felt that insufficient funds existed to build new schools or additions to schools. So portable or “temporary” or “trailer” classrooms were used for classroom needs. By 1998 close to 3,500 portable classrooms existed in the state. Most felt that the majority of these structures were unsafe and, certainly, inconvenient for student and teacher needs.

The 1998 legislature passed a $550 million bond issue of which $345 million was earmarked for K-12 in the 128 school systems in the state. Specifically, the bond money was to be used to eradicate and replace portable classrooms and substandard classrooms. There was a realization that that the $345 million was insufficient to eliminate and replace these categories of classrooms in every system. Thus, the bond issue enactment contained language providing to each system the ability to “leverage” their PSF appropriation. A school system could use all or a portion of their allotment for this purpose. Whereas, PSF dollars when distributed to the local system could not be used to purchase bonds, leaving the dollars at the state level would allow the Public School and College Authority (PSCA) to make combined state-wide purchases. The bond dollars could then be provided the local system in order to enhance their ability to remove the portable buildings. The local system would pledge its future PSF allocations to pay off their proportion of the bond proceeds.

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