By the numbers, South Florida's school districts -- the two biggest in the state and among the largest in the country -- should be entitled to significant influence over state education policy and financing.

But Broward lawmakers -- particularly Democrats -- often flounder in a state Legislature that has been dominated by Republicans since 1999. Miami-Dade legislators, who include Speaker Marco Rubio, are often at odds with their school district's wishes -- and each other.

Evidence of the influence imbalance between urban and non-urban districts emerged Sunday when top Republican lawmakers struck a budget deal in Tallahassee setting aside $7.5 million to compensate Miami-Dade schools for higher living costs -- but left out Broward schools. Initially, House members planned to set aside $4 million for Broward, but the Senate refused.

Sen. Lisa Carlton, one of two budget chiefs in the House and Senate, said lawmakers should stop compensating urban districts for higher living costs. Money was still made available to Miami-Dade because it had lost the most money from a change to the school funding formula in 2004.

Central and North Florida school districts representing fewer students are able to steer the debate on everything from how South Florida schools are financed to how teachers who work with students learning English are trained.

''South Florida should really have more power,'' said Eleanor Sobel, a Broward School Board member and former state representative. ``If we'd only work together, we'd accomplish more. We'd be a powerful force to reckon with.''

The relative weakness of the Broward and Miami-Dade delegations has had tangible consequences in a rough budget year: South Florida districts are taking a disproportionate share of the cuts.

With 260,000 students, Broward has 10 percent of the state's students, Chief Financial Officer Ben Leong said. Broward's proposed share of cuts in the House and Senate budgets ranges from 18 percent to 22 percent. Miami-Dade, whose 350,000 students represent about 13 percent of the total, would bear more than 20 percent of the cuts.

MORE ACTION URGED

Broward School Board member Maureen Dinnen says Senate President-to-be Jeff Atwater, a North Palm Beach Republican whose district includes parts of Broward, and House Whip Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, a Fort Lauderdale Republican, should be doing more for the region.

''If South Florida is being really harmed, I think we need to ask the future Senate president why and ask the House whip why,'' Dinnen said.

Sen. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami, said all of South Florida's legislators value education, but each member's political party shapes those values.

``The Democrats hold education as No. 1 and understand funding this is important. Republicans hold education as No. 1, but they believe in cutting and that you can get by on less.''

Compounding the problems created by those differing philosophies: While Broward and Palm Beach have delegation office staffs to get legislators working together, Miami-Dade did away with theirs in the face of state budgets cuts last fall.

Wilson said the staff rallied Miami-Dade lawmakers and held weekly meetings. ''Right now, we're just like loose cannons on our own,'' she said.

In the past, South Florida was a powerful voting bloc because geography often trumped political party, Broward school district lobbyist Georgia Slack said.

That's less of a reality now, and the Democrat-heavy Broward delegation is limited in what it can accomplish in a Republican-dominated Legislature, Rep. Martin Kiar, D-Davie, conceded.

''It does get frustrating when there's some very good things and very good policies, especially for our kids and our education system, that you see not pass,'' Kiar said.

Every year, Broward legislators declare that education funding is a priority, but during a special legislative session last fall and again earlier this month, House Democrats raised their objections to budget cuts to an almost-empty chamber while Republicans were out eating lunch.

Some South Florida members point to differing philosophies on budgeting. ''We're all trying to accomplish the same thing. We just have different approaches,'' said Rep. Juan Carlos Zapata, a Miami Republican and chairman of the Miami-Dade delegation.

''They feel that there should be more dollars,'' Zapata said, referring to Democrats. ``The way the Republicans see it, it's not how much you spend, but how you spend it. It's a challenge to balance the two.''

For its part, the fractured Miami-Dade delegation has fought itself to near-impotency on behalf of its school district.

In 2006, members of the Miami-Dade delegation tried but failed to push a fellow delegation member, Republican Sen. Alex Villalobos of Miami, from public office. Villalobos' vote kept a legislative initiative to put private school vouchers from getting on the ballot that year and rejected then-Gov. Jeb Bush's push to weaken the state's class-size amendment.

Rubio, a West Miami Republican, has lost some of the clout he held when he became speaker last year because some opponents say he went too far with his fiscal conservatism.

Earlier this month, House Democratic leader Dan Gelber of Miami Beach invoked a rule requiring the entire text of each bill to be read aloud, a 17-hour endeavor he said was reaction to Republican maneuvering to prevent an amendment to an education bill brought up by two Democrats from being heard. He put the blame on Rubio.

''When the majority party decides that they do not want your voice to be heard, and when they resort to procedural machinations to stop you from speaking, they are taking away the only tool you have to fight for the people you represent and the principles you cherish,'' Gelber wrote on his blog after the Friday night standoff.

Four years ago, South Florida districts lost millions in school money to compensate for the higher cost of living here. Last year, when Rep. J.C. Planas, a Westchester Republican, tried to reopen the issue, Rubio initially tried to block debate on the proposal.

Broward school district officials have few such battles with their county's state representatives.

A COALITION

Because numbers have failed them in Tallahassee, the Broward and Dade school districts have joined with other districts in a coalition of about 10 counties called the Greater Florida Consortium of School Boards. Broward legislators instead push for amendments and add-ons to existing bills to get some things they want, said Kiar, the Davie representative.

He points to a bill by Rep. Dick Kravitz, R-Jacksonville, that included a provision allowing school districts to start the school year as early as they wanted, something Broward parents disliked. Kiar had the language removed.

''I look at that as being a victory,'' Kiar said. ``Just by understanding the rules, working hard and reading all of the bills that come before us, we are able to get things accomplished in different ways.''

Miami Herald staff writers Gary Fineout, Breanne Gilpatrick and Laura Figueroa contributed to this report.

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