A former Jacksonville state lawmaker thinks school districts can save money by having students attend classes year-round.

Lynn Coleman taught at Cocoa's Challenger Elementary, which had a year-round schedule when it first opened in 1986.

"We had a lot of students," she said. "In fact, we had more students than we had room for."

So, students attended class for nine weeks, then had three weeks off. While four groups of students were in class, the fifth was on break. It increased capacity by 33-percent.

"(It) took a lot of teamwork," said Coleman. "Kids were wonderful. And it worked. It worked! We got all the extra children in."

As more schools opened, the school was less crowded, but the school kept the year-round calendar.

Now, some lawmakers say it's time the model was adopted by other school districts, to help Florida schools meet the class-size amendment.

"We could increase capacity of schools by 20 to 33 percent by simply changing calendar and using what you already have," said former state legislator Stan Jordan. "It makes sense, it's common sense, and it's time we seriously looked at it."

Jordan now serves on the Duval County school board. He said he has the support of at least one current lawmaker. Their plan would pay districts an extra $250 per student if the districts went to year-round classes. Jordan admits the money would have to be found in what will already be a very tight budget year. But he claims it will save money in construction costs in the long run.

"You can do double sessions if you don't have space, which is terrible," said Jordan. "You can have portables lined up like P.T. Barnum's loaded circus...or you could keep a school community together and simply change the calendar."

Central Florida school districts said they wouldn't rule out the option.

For its part, Challenger faculty and students seem to support the year-round concept. They say it offers vacation opportunities during cooler months and they believe it helps classroom performance. Challenger has always been an A-rated school.