Sarasota school system (fit in, private schools, moving to)

[Where'sTheBeach?]

Hi! My husband and i have been considering moving to the Sarasota area. I'm a high school ELA teacher, and he's elementary, sped. I am interested in the teachers' perspectives from this area. What are the positives and negatives of teaching here?
In MA, we have the MCAS state testing, and everything has come to center around this. We eat, sleep, and breathe MCAS. As English teachers, much of our job is trying to still teach the kids to be individuals when administration is shoving conformity down our throats.
I enjoy working with the "Alternate" students. I teach day school, and then I also teacher Afternoon School every day. These are the kids that didn't fit into the day school cutout, for one reason or another.
I would like a school with a good student-to-teacher ratio. We have a max. of 32 students per teacher in our contract, and that's just crazy to me! I like 20. I can teach 20. 32, you're not longer teaching. You are controlling, maintaining... not teaching.
Any insight into the school system and the positives and negatives of teaching in this area would be much appreciated!
Thanks!

[Oobie119]

Ive been in both Manatee and Sarasota county public schools.. and yes. It's all about the FCAT (standardized testing). I left for just that reason. Also. your husband won't be happy as an ESE teacher here. The ESE teachers are not treated equally from my experiences (Im also and ESE teacher). They also have little support in the classroom. I taught ESE in Chicago public schools for 7 years and loved it. You were part of the staff, you were VERY well respected for what you do and you had all the support you could ask for. The pay in Sarasota and Manatee is very good, as is the teacher student ration-- but I suggest private schools.