Schools showing wear and tear; Fans and foes of the Manatee sales tax vote agree on the need for expansion and repairs.(A SECTION)

Byline: COURTNEY CAIRNS PASTOR courtney.pastor@heraldtribune.com

MANATEE COUNTY -- Some people say the School Board will waste sales tax money. Some say the board should force developers to pay more. Others believe the district should be smarter with its money and not ask voters for more.

They might vote "No" May 21 during a special election to increase sales tax for school construction. But even critics of the sales tax proposal agree that the district needs to do a better job keeping schools safe, clean and uncrowded.

More than a dozen of Manatee's 41 schools are overcrowded. About the same number are in poor condition, and some suffer from both problems.

All you have to do is walk through the schools to understand their needs. Anna Maria and Miller elementary schools are more than half a century old. Lakewood Ranch High School brought in portable classrooms before its first class graduated in 2001.

Rapidly increasing enrollment and limited space for new students have led principals to assign as many children as they can to each teacher.

Twenty-seven kindergartners fill Nancy McCabe's class at Blackburn Elementary in Ellenton. Tending to the needs of that many children cuts into her teaching time.

Just 15 minutes into the school day, McCabe has sharpened four pencils, replaced three broken crayons,…