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Commentary:
State Education Funding Crisis: Merge School Districts to Cut
Costs
Mike Reno, Detroit Free Press, June 27, 2005
For more articles like this
visit
http://www.bridges4kids.org.
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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