12/14/2007
80 kids in a school district?
You and I are paying for 2/3 of the expenses in Wisconsin’s 424 (!) school districts (2006-07) – so is it our business how efficient and effective these school districts are? YES, of course it is. Yesterday’s FoxPolitics News included an article from the Indiana Star summarizing one of 27 recommendations made by that state’s Commission on Local Government Reform. Of Indiana's 293 school districts, 151 have enrollments of fewer than 2,000 students. "The research by people in education is you ought not to have a school district smaller than 2,000 to 5,000 children," said Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard, a co-chairman of the commission. …Education leaders disputed that argument Tuesday.
Why am I not surprised? Both cited a study by Indiana University's Center for Education and Evaluation Policy, which concluded that only merging districts with fewer than 750 students results in significant cost savings. [Here’s the study – very interesting.] Just 18 school districts have enrollments of fewer than 750 students, according to state Department of Education statistics. Ellis said consolidating school districts will do little to improve student performance. "The only thing we're interested in right now is to find better ways to improve student achievement," he said. "This has nothing to do with that."
Well, what I’m interested in is improving student achievement and controlling costs, especially as district enrollments level off and/or decline substantially. Wisconsin district enrollment numbers (2006-07) - 424 districts in the state
- 95 of the districts are smaller than 500 students
- 168 of the districts are smaller than 750 students
- 318 – or fully 75% of all school districts are smaller than 2,000 students. Wow.
Ok, in some areas of northern Wisconsin, some districts cover huge geographic areas, with less than 2 students per square mile. In those cases, the huge distances are an important factor that argues against consolidation. Understandable. Transportation costs and times would become untenable. So, given that, below are the numbers, eliminating the schools in the three northernmost CESA districts. - 358 districts in the southern 2/3 of the state
- 73 of the districts are smaller than 500 students
- 129 of the districts are smaller than 750 students
- 262 – or 73% of these school districts are smaller than 2,000 students. Wow again.
Now, practically speaking, folks are pretty protective of their little (or big) school districts. It’s nuts, but human. Old loyalties don’t die… you know the spiel. And you probably know the feeling. And, having researched exactly this kind of thing, school finance experts say that you can’t save significant monies simply by consolidating administrative duties and staffs. In order for real savings to occur, a consolidation must result in at least one school closure. A school closure – now that’s really tough politically. As pressure mounts for the school funding formula to be radically revised, somebody (all of us?) simply must drum up a healthy store of political will. For, among many other issues that are certain to be addressed, the formula must find a way to strongly motivate consolidation – even going so far as to punish those districts where enrollment numbers continue to decline. It’s time. In Indiana and most assuredly, in Wisconsin.
COMMENTS
Outstanding blog Jo. I hope board members across the State are listening to people like you.
David (Fri Dec 14 07:08:21 2007)
Wow, you and I often are on opposing sides on many issues -- but on this one, we agree. And good research and reporting, too. This needs to get wider attention.
From your blog to our legislators. . . .
Freefall (Fri Dec 14 15:21:44 2007)
|
