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Article of Interest - Education Funding

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Commentary: State Education Funding Crisis: Merge School Districts to Cut Costs
Mike Reno, Detroit Free Press, June 27, 2005
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As buses, some union funded, rolled to Lansing last week for a rally to guarantee increases in state aid for schools, many of us who stayed home but also care about our children would not agree that money is the only solution. It is an issue, but what's really needed is leadership from Lansing.

I've been looking at districts nationwide seeking those that demonstrate a commitment to excellence as defined by Newsweek and the Jay Mathews Challenge Index. One side effect of this review is that I clearly see how ridiculous the structure is here in Michigan for public education.

Virginia educates 1.17 million children and has 135 school districts; Maryland educates 866,743 in 24 districts. North Carolina, with 1.34 million students, has 117 districts.

Then comes Michigan, with 1.79 million students and a staggering 553 districts.

Each district has its own superintendent and assistant superintendents. Each district has business offices, computer groups and transportation departments, each requiring directors and supervisors, plus desks and buildings. Each district needs a large computer system to process e-mail, payroll and payables.

The duplication of efforts between Michigan school districts borders on the absurd, and merging districts would save money.

Oakland County has 28 districts and educates over 200,000 students. Twenty-eight is easily four to five times more than we need.

While bigger doesn't necessarily mean better, it doesn't mean worse performance either. The Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland have more than 140,000 students with 24 high schools, and 23 of them
made Newsweek's rankings. Charlotte-Mecklenburg in North Carolina, with 121,000 students had all 14 of its high schools make the list. Fairfax County in Virginia, with 158,000 students, had 24 of its 25 high schools receive the honor. The state of Michigan had 22 schools in the Top 1,000.

Just a 1% savings through merging districts could net schools another $100 per pupil. Consolidation could address some of the problems outlined in the recent Citizens Research Council report on school infrastructure. Consolidation could move more money to the classroom, or help avert cuts. Unbelievably, there is no meaningful dialogue on consolidation.

School boards will recite a list of problems with consolidation, most of which could be solved if people really wanted them solved. In general, school boards are simply not prepared to handle issues of this magnitude. Incentive or direction must come from much higher up the food chain.

Michigan legislators need to aggressively push common-sense solutions. Dollars are being wasted. It's pretty clear that the state needs to take the lead since school boards have not.

MIKE RENO is trustee on the Rochester Community Schools Board of Education. Write to him in care of the Free Press Editorial Page, 600 W. Fort St., Detroit, MI 48226.    

 

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