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Author: Gregory J. Collins
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 346
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Book Description
School district consolidation is a contentious policy debated and implemented in states across the nation. Though consolidation occurred rapidly throughout the 20th century, with the number of districts falling from over 120,000 to approximately 13,000, and several states and communities continue to mandate or incentivize it, little is known about the effects of the policy on student learning or the efficient use of the public's resources. The purpose of this dissertation is to describe recent school district consolidation in the United States and estimate the effects of one mandatory consolidation policy on student and financial outcomes. Using national and state administrative records and media reports of mergers, I counted the number of consolidations between 2000 and 2015 and examined the characteristics of affected districts. I found that one of every nine districts was part of a consolidation during this period. Most of the mergers melded a very low-enrollment rural district into a much larger neighbor, but some consolidations paired multiple high-enrollment urban districts. Consolidating districts were above-average spenders but generally carried little debt. To examine the efficiency effects of consolidation, I studied student and spending outcomes of a 2004 Arkansas law that established minimum district enrollments. From a differences-in-differences analysis, I found that graduation rates were negatively affected by consolidation while the effect on spending was negligible. Some administrative expense savings, specifically targeted by the legislation, were realized through a reduction in the number of central office personnel, but increases in transportation spending offset half of the small savings. These findings suggest that efficiency improvements should not be expected to automatically follow from school district consolidation. The results of the descriptive analysis, in conjunction with the many mandatory consolidation proposals under consideration in states across the nation, highlight the need for an acceleration of research into the effects of school district consolidation on community resources and student learning and life outcomes.
Author: Gregory J. Collins
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 346
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Book Description
School district consolidation is a contentious policy debated and implemented in states across the nation. Though consolidation occurred rapidly throughout the 20th century, with the number of districts falling from over 120,000 to approximately 13,000, and several states and communities continue to mandate or incentivize it, little is known about the effects of the policy on student learning or the efficient use of the public's resources. The purpose of this dissertation is to describe recent school district consolidation in the United States and estimate the effects of one mandatory consolidation policy on student and financial outcomes. Using national and state administrative records and media reports of mergers, I counted the number of consolidations between 2000 and 2015 and examined the characteristics of affected districts. I found that one of every nine districts was part of a consolidation during this period. Most of the mergers melded a very low-enrollment rural district into a much larger neighbor, but some consolidations paired multiple high-enrollment urban districts. Consolidating districts were above-average spenders but generally carried little debt. To examine the efficiency effects of consolidation, I studied student and spending outcomes of a 2004 Arkansas law that established minimum district enrollments. From a differences-in-differences analysis, I found that graduation rates were negatively affected by consolidation while the effect on spending was negligible. Some administrative expense savings, specifically targeted by the legislation, were realized through a reduction in the number of central office personnel, but increases in transportation spending offset half of the small savings. These findings suggest that efficiency improvements should not be expected to automatically follow from school district consolidation. The results of the descriptive analysis, in conjunction with the many mandatory consolidation proposals under consideration in states across the nation, highlight the need for an acceleration of research into the effects of school district consolidation on community resources and student learning and life outcomes.
Author: James S. Streifel
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 98
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Book Description
Author: Odessa Y Mann
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 190
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Book Description
This study explored the impact of rural school district consolidation in eastern NorthCarolina. Wilkins County is a low-income, low-performing county with an average dailymembership (ADM) of 1,501 students. This county suffers from rural population decline,decreasing ADM, and is categorized as low performing, with only two of the six schools meetingan annual growth requirement in North Carolina for the 2016-2017 school year. In 2017-2018,the six schools in this system went through planning and input sessions to implement schoolconsolidation. This case study reviews the process of consolidation one year after 2017-2018consolidation in terms of academic, financial, and community. It was determined that academicsincreased, the need for financial support increased, and the community perceived the event aspositive overall. It was also concluded that additional years of data would be needed to determinethe long-term effects. This information is valuable for other school districts that are seeking toconsolidate multiple campuses while maintaining community support.
Author: Jonathan P. Sher
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Government publications
Languages : en
Pages : 52
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Author: Daniel M. Erceg
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Educational change
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
School districts throughout the United States may be forced to consider school closures based on a variety of factors. New York State has struggled financially due to the Great Recession that began in December of 2007 (Alvi, 2017). In addition, New York State has seen a reduction of over 165,000 students since 2010 (New York State Education Department, n.d.-b). School consolidation continues to be a proposed solution to decreased enrollment, financial stress, poor academic outcomes, and infrastructure concerns (Green, 2013; Larsen, 2020; Steinberg & MacDonald, 2019). Existing research lacks specific information on whether schools are actively planning for programmatic changes to enhance the education of their students. The purpose of this comparative case study was to understand the perceived programmatic changes and academic benefits associated with school consolidation for urban-suburban, rural, and small city school districts in New York State through interviews with superintendents, building and district administrators, and board of education members involved with their district's transition. One-on-one interviews were conducted with eight participants in three districts who consolidated in the five years prior to the start of this study. The overall findings indicated student enrollment, financial stress, academic improvement, and resource efficacy were the primary factors driving consolidation in participating districts. Participants in one out of three districts identified the same primary justification for the district's consolidation. An analysis of interviews with eight district leaders indicated all three districts described actions embodying the first four steps in Kotter's (2012) eight-step process for leading change. The first four steps included: (a) establishing a sense of urgency, (b) creating a guiding coalition, (c) developing a vision and strategy, and (d) communicating the change vision. Participants verbalized their consolidation efforts were successful but were unable to articulate specific indicators to support their assertion. In the study, six out of eight participants described an increase in collaboration between staff and consistency in academic expectations, and five out of eight participants identified new opportunities for students. Finally, three out of eight participants identified unintentional benefits that resulted from the consolidation efforts such as additional programming, a greater sense of community, and an increased focus on social emotional learning. Several recommendations came from this research, beginning with the need for the New York State Education Department to create a definition of school consolidation and begin to track school consolidation in an effective and efficient manner. School districts may benefit from the creation of guiding coalitions to support future change efforts and to create a vision for the district. The guiding coalition could support communication efforts and establish indicators of success. Recommendations for future research are suggested.
Author: Marvin Stewart
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781267045508
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 84
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This study examined financial aspects of the consolidation or annexation of 12 pairs of school districts in Texas during the period 1996-2006. Nine of the twelve districts consolidated by mutual agreement of the two school boards and three annexations were by order of the Commissioner of Education of Texas. Financial criteria studied were: (a) per pupil expenditures, (b) total state aid, (c) transportation costs, (d) administrative costs, (e) school district "wealth" status, and (f) facilities assets/liabilities. Each of the initial 24 independent school districts' criteria were collected for two years prior to consolidation and the 12 newly formed consolidated districts criteria were collected for the two years following consolidation. After consolidation, ten of the twelve districts had fewer than 1,000 students. Of the other two districts, one district had approximately 3,000 students and one large district had over 150,000 students. Some districts experienced increases in local expenditures relative to transportation, administrative costs and total expenditures while other districts decreased costs over time. Twelve non-consolidated districts with similar characteristics of the twelve consolidated districts were reviewed with the non-consolidated districts exhibiting increase and decrease fluctuations seen in the consolidated school districts. These findings suggested that each of the issues studied in public school finance need to be examined with more specific criteria in order to ascertain cause and effect relationships with regard to school consolidation financial impact on state and local revenues and expenditures. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest llc. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.].
Author: Grace Tanquary Hillyard
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 340
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Author: June N. Irvin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Schools
Languages : en
Pages : 170
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Abstract.
Author: Sharif M. Shakrani
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 4
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Book Description
The author's "School District Consolidation Study in 10 Michigan Counties" study was published in August, 2010 by The Education Policy Center at Michigan State University. It was intended to measure the financial impact of consolidation of schools at the county level akin to other states like Virginia, Florida and Maryland. The study was recently critiqued by his colleague at Michigan State University, Dr. David Arsen in a paper entitled, "Observation on School District and Service Consolidation in Michigan" (January, 2011). Professor Arsen concludes that the most striking feature of the study is its assumption that the rate of saving would be the same for every district. A careful reading of the paper would clearly indicate this is not the case. The author specifically states that the estimated saving percentage "may not apply equally to all size districts." The average numbers may over-estimate the saving for school districts with 10,000 or more students and under-estimate the savings for districts with 1,500 or less students. The linear straight line regression equation is intended as an overall estimate for the 10 counties studied, and by its mathematical traits will over estimate for some districts and under estimate for others. There are virtually no comprehensive and scientifically designed research studies on the financial impact of consolidation at the county level. Most of the studies deal with the specific consolidation of few districts in rural areas, so it is not possible to judge which estimates are accurate and which are not. In most cases judgments are made based on emotions by proponents, or opponents, of school consolidation. [For the report, "Observations on School District and Service Consolidation in Michigan. Working Paper #17," see ED537161.].
Author: J. Francis Hall
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Academic achievement
Languages : en
Pages : 178
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Book Description
School district consolidation has a history in the United States education system dating back to 1789. The consolidation, or merging, of school districts, is often viewed by school decision-makers as an effective way to save money, increase offerings (both academic and extra-curricular), and increase student achievement. This study investigates if there is a relationship between school consolidation and student achievement. The study uses Comprehensive Meta-Analysis to synthesize an effect size from primary and secondary sources. It is the only known study investigating the relationship between school consolidation and student achievement that utilizes Comprehensive Meta-Analysis. Primary data consist of student results on state assessment tests before and after district consolidation from districts mergers in the states of New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania since 2004. Secondary data were obtained from six previous studies that investigated school consolidation and student achievement. The study focused on the results of students in Grades three through eight. Pre- and post-merger data were analyzed for all students, as well as students in the following subgroups: Black, Hispanic/Latino, and economically disadvantaged. Results from New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania were also compared. Results and implications of the study could provide insight into school district decision-makers who might be considering consolidation.
