Legislative leaders-in-waiting Sen. Don Gaetz and Rep. Will Weatherford are heading up a GOP initiative to water down constitutional class size limits approved by voters.

Gaetz, R-Destin, and Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, sponsored a constitutional amendment lawmakers are expected to put on the ballot this year that would undo some of the class size restrictions voters approved in 2002.

Floridians have already spent $16 billion to shrink class sizes but plummeting property tax collections - which pay for public schools - have sent lawmakers scrambling to foot the $22 billion-a-year tab for education.

Gaetz and Weatherford, who are expected to lead their chambers in 2012, will reveal details of their proposal at a press conference tomorrow morning.

Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running for U.S. Senate, recently said that he supports undoing the class size restrictions, which have been been introduced gradually and which school officials say costs too much and doesn’t benefit student achievement.

U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, a Democrat is also running for the U.S. Senate seat Crist seeks, was the force behind the class size amendment in 2002 while he was in the state Senate.

He isn’t backing down from the limits, which are set to go into full effect by the end of this year.

“Eight years later, Tallahassee officials have not relented in trying to water down hard-fought class size limits while refusing to tackle the special interest bidding that is alive and well in the state capital, ” said Kendrick Meek, who served as Chairman of Florida’s Coalition to Reduce Class Size in 2002.

“Florida families cannot be shortchanged. They simply ask that their children not be packed into overcrowded classrooms. Instead of focusing on misguided priorities, Florida needs a long-term perspective to secure a better future for our children. Implementing the class size limits without delay is critical so our teachers can teach in classrooms where our students can learn. Moreover, it is important to note that our state needs to invest now in its human capital in order to reverse the tide of joblessness for tomorrow’s workers,” Meek said in press release.

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Shanda Kirkwood reads to her Pine Grove Elementary fourth grade class. (Palm Beach Post)

The Florida House this morning approved a constitutional amendment for the 2010 ballot that, if voters approved, would let school districts keep current class size caps at the school average instead of individual classrooms.

The 78-41 vote included a few Democrats crossing over to join Republicans: Jim Waldman of Coconut Creek, Debbie Boyd of Newberry and Leonard Bembry of Greenville.

The debate over the measure, sponsored by Rep. Will Weatherford, a Wesley Chapel Republican hoping to become speaker in 2012, also offered a few contenders for Quote of the Day, including this one that earned a “Hey!” from Speaker Larry Cretul.

“Hypocrisy knows no bounds in this chamber,” said Rep. Scott Randolph, D-Orlando.

The Senate companion (SB 1828) is scheduled for its final committee hearing next week.