Lake County Schools discussed a plan Monday to meet state laws dealing with the number of students per classroom.

The discussion came just days after the school district announced an investigation is underway in the district into teachers and principals fudging numbers to avoid fines from the state.

Many of the 25 school districts in the state that did not meet class size amendments this year have been pretty open, saying it’s cheaper to pay the fines than hire more teachers.

But the question is why it took a teacher blowing the whistle to bring it to light?

Every October classrooms across Florida are asked to count their students and submit their data to the state. Class size amendments approved by voters require no more than 25 students in high schools, 22 for grades 4 through 8, and 18 at the elementary and Pre-k level.

But a teacher at Lake Minneola High School told the state inspector general her superiors were asking her to effectively hide students in non-existent classes.

“We began investigating that school as well as all the schools in the district to see that they met class size correctly. Throughout that investigation, we found six schools did not meet class size correctly,” Lake County School District spokesperson Chris Patton said.

School Board Chairwoman Debbie Stivender said she believes staff who may have been fudging numbers were doing it for the right reasons.

“This kind of thing goes on because they are looking out for the best interest of students and moving them out of a classroom is not the best interest of the students they need stability,” Stivender said.

The district ended up being over by about 50 students. However, an internal investigation into the issue continues, along with who might have been trying to coerce staff to misrepresent classroom size.

They are also applauding the teacher who bravely came forward.

“We always encourage employees to do the right thing and this employee obviously did,” Patton said.

Superintendent Susan Moxley hasn’t announced any discipline for employees yet. Anything more than a five day suspension would need board approval.

The state does have some leeway in levying fines, but Patton said he expected the penalty to surpass six figures.