After spending nearly $16 billion to implement Florida's voter-approved plan to reduce class sizes, Gov. Charlie Crist and the Republican Legislature are now talking about reining it in.

But a leading Democrat says the idea would leave the state not much else than a big bill to show for the investment.

"I am hesitant of the governor's call for changing the class-size amendment in the state Constitution," House Democratic leader Franklin Sands of Weston said in a press release Jan. 29. "I seriously doubt that Floridians will want to undo what they approved in 2002. I strongly support giving school districts the flexibility they need to deal with small increases in the student-teacher ratios. But it is important to remember that Florida still averages more students in its classrooms than any other state in the Southeast."

We wondered if Sands' claim, that Florida averages more students per classrooms than other states in the Southeast, is right.

First, some background.

In November 2002, Florida voters passed a constitutional amendment that sets limits for how many students are allowed per class starting in the 2010-11 school year. The limits are subdivided by grades K-3, 4-8 and 9-12: no more than 18 students for grades K-3, no more than 22 students for grades 4-8 and no more than 25 students for grades 9-12.

In 2003, the state started to slowly implement the changes. First, classroom reductions were measured at the school district average, then at the school average. In the fall, districts are scheduled to meet the new limits in every classroom.