During the 2002 general election voters amended the Florida Constitution to reduce class sizes so that by the 2010-11 school year the maximum number of students in core courses does not exceed specified limits.
Since the passage of the amendment, school districts have relied heavily on construction options such as building of new schools and additions to existing schools and to a lesser extent on relocatables and non-construction options such as rezoning and co-teaching as primary strategies to reduce class sizes. However, districts predict that they will rely more heavily on new school construction in the future to reduce class sizes as options for expansions on existing sites are exhausted.
School districts indicate that increasing construction costs have made it difficult for them to construct the number of classrooms needed to lower class sizes to required levels. However, districts vary widely in their average student station construction costs even after taking into consideration regional cost differences.
School districts can reduce construction costs by adding classroom capacity through additions to existing schools rather than building entirely new schools, by using frugal construction practices and prototypical designs, and by using modular construction and relocatables whenever possible.

The State Requirements for Educational Facilities (SREF) Should Be Retained; Some Modifications Could Be Made
Report 17-04 January 2017
Special Facility Construction Projects Appear Needed, but Have Excess Capacity
Report 11-02 January 2011

Copies of this report in print or alternate accessible format may be obtained by email OPPAGA@oppaga.fl.gov, telephone (850) 488-0021, or mail 111 W. Madison St., Room 312 Tallahassee, FL 32399-1475.