Dive Brief:
- In an effort to keep taxes down, the Pennsylvania state legislature is considering cost savings that could come from consolidating some of the state’s 500 school districts.
- The Times-Tribune reports legislators will vote this month on a resolution directing the Joint State Government Commission to study the impact of consolidation on administrative salaries, bulk purchasing power and transportation as well as the best options for consolidation — along county lines or some other unit.
- A 2007 study identified 88 districts with higher-than-average costs that would still enroll fewer than 3,000 students even if combined with neighboring districts, but school superintendents expect public opposition to such a plan would be high.
Dive Insight:
Research has shown that when schools close and those students are sent to better schools, those students' performance improves as well. And considering cost savings associated with operating fewer schools in a district continues to make school closings and consolidations an attractive option.
Chicago engaged in the largest mass school closing in history, shuttering 50 schools and sending students to other local options. First discussed as a solution to costly underutilization, the money savings have been muted because of higher-than-expected closing costs, maintenance of empty buildings, and additional needs like safe passage routes to get kids from original schools to their new ones.