Plano ISD

My story today looks at one of the biggest education issues facing the state Legislature this session: class size.

Here's an excerpt:

"With this smaller group you can touch students more," said longtime Allen ISD teacher Mary Ann Weaver as she reminded a girl to carry the 1.

That remains a popular sentiment among Texas educators, many of whom decry state legislators' recent recommendations to scrap the cap on elementary school classes.

But for all the concern about packed classrooms, experts have found little evidence that slightly larger classes deter learning. A commonly used waiver means hundreds of the state's kindergarten through fourth-grade classes already exceed the current, 22-student limit for those grades.

With financially drained districts eyeing millions in possible savings, legislators aren't the only ones reassessing the value of the decades-old philosophy.

Click here to read the full story.

Plano ISD Superintendent Doug Otto suggested bumping the cap up two students.

"We have to figure out a way to work with the new reality with less dollars," he told me. The district faces at least $10 million in cuts next year. "This gives us a lot more flexibility. It protects fairly small class sizes, but you don't have to try and balance your budget on the backs of older students all the time."

The district can't apply for a waiver because it doesn't meet the qualifications. It has enough extra space and can hire a teacher, if needed. But all of that costs, Otto said.

"Right now we are looking for a middle ground," he said.