JEB! DEFEATED ON CLASS SIZE ISSUE

Sometimes, it's just nice to show that the governor is not invincible, although the Republicans hold a majority in both legislative chambers. And sometimes, a few Republicans actually stand up for common people and children, which was the case Thursday.

Jeb! has been wanting to undercut the electorate's decision in passing a constitutional amendment to mandate lower class sizes while also expanding the voucher (read: privitization) program. Both proposals were defeated by a close 21-19 margin in the Senate on the day before the legislative session's close.

In addition to the 17 Democrats, seven Republicans opposed the measure. The Republican leadership will likely now hit those senators who voted against the class-size issue as being against teachers, since a rider on the proposal would have guaranteed teachers a $35,000 minimum starting salary.

Smaller classes generally mean better learning conditions as well as better discipline. The costs will, indeed, be higher, but we cannot afford to run our education system on the cheap.