* Money that could have been used to build more schools was gobbled up by projects that came in way over budget. New schools alone came in at least $117 million over estimates - enough to build another 10 elementary schools.

Longtime school facilities chief Paul Phillips argues that the problem is one of runaway growth and a lack of money, not a lack of management.

Less than 25 percent of school construction money comes from the state, forcing rapidly-growing systems such as Miami-Dade's to come up with tens of millions of dollars. "We knew as soon as we built a school it would be overcrowded, " said Phillips, who retired two years ago. "There was no light at the end of the tunnel. There was not enough land and not enough money."

But Schools Superintendent Merrett Stierheim says the district didn't produce schools fast enough and lacked strong planning. Last June, his staff took a recommendation to the School Board to build bigger schools. And now he's working to overhaul the district's construction program, hoping a series of changes will help the district build more quickly.

"Construction was a mess, " said Stierheim, who took the job 15 months ago. "It was a big, big mess."

BOND INADEQUATE

Miami-Dade County Schools is one of the fastest-growing districts in the nation. Between 1990 and 2000, student enrollment ballooned by 92,000 students. That equals the number of public-school students in Wyoming.

Other Florida school systems, including Broward, Palm Beach and Orange counties, also saw some of the nation's highest growth rates. Florida's schools estimate needing at least $11 billion over the next five years for new classrooms. "We've been able to keep pace with growth but never catch up, " said Richard Hinds, Miami-Dade Public Schools' chief financial officer.

Today, district officials admit that the $980 million bond referendum wasn't nearly enough.

But in 1988, bond backers feared the referendum wouldn't pass, so they kept the price down while promising to meet most needs.

"There was an artificial effort to hold it under the $1 billion mark, " said School Board member Frank Bolaņos. "I think a lot of people were foreseeing a larger need but were afraid to present a larger bond referendum to the public."

Now, schools are packed, teachers are overwhelmed and parents are furious. In 1991, the district was short 75,734 permanent seats. By 1996, the gap had grown to 83,520.

In 2002, after years of building, the district was officially short an estimated 55,000 seats, but the actual number is likely much higher. The state several years ago changed the way it counts space in schools, making it appear that Miami-Dade County has thousands more seats than it actually does.

Now, at lunchtime at Miami Senior High, some students squat over cardboard boxes because tables in the cafeteria are packed.

At Palm Springs North Elementary, media specialist Roland Adames last year kept the center open two nights a week so students could borrow books. Just 130 students could fit into the media center, even though the school has more than 1,400.

Kennedy Middle got a 310-seat addition in 1999, but the school still has 2,150 students on a campus built for about 1,000. Kennedy is the second-most crowded middle school in Florida.

"It can get hectic, " said Claude. "But I've got to find a way to deal with it."

FUNDS DISTRIBUTION

Despite the growing space crunch, the School Board opted to spend just $1.2 billion on new-school construction, about one-fifth of the money available to build, repair and maintain campuses.