Bill Raising Georgia Class Sizes Passes

      ATLANTA (AP) - A bill giving Georgia school districts more flexibility amid the state's fiscal crisis has passed a key committee.

     The legislation allows districts to increase class size by one student in kindergarten through fifth-grade and by two students in sixth-grade through high school through 2013. It also lifts state controls on how schools spend their funding - such as how much is spent on libraries or transportation.

      It passed the House Education Committee on Thursday.

      Rep. Tommy Benton, a Republican from Jefferson who sponsored the bill, said he wants schools to have greater freedom as lawmakers prepare to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from education spending.