With all that is going around in the world of education lately, this suggestion from Ohio popped up from among the edu-chatter. A report from the Greater Ohio Policy Center and The Brookings Institution suggests that Ohio consolidate many of its school districts and reduce the number of districts in the state from 613 to somewhere around 400 instead.
The justification is that Ohio spends far too much money on administrators and not enough in the classroom. They suggest the state take on a “base-closing” examination, similar to what the military did to reduce the number of bases in the military and limit redundancies, with schools. Of course, there is opposition to this idea, which got BoardBuzz thinking.
What if all states reduced the number of districts and consolidated, would there be a financial savings in the long run? How much would the increased travel time that would be required to bus students longer distances cost? What are the impacts on student achievement in schools where students spend long periods of time going to and from school? Could this be something other states should consider? We know that many districts have consolidated in the past (see NSBA’s resources), but would a state be able to make this change wholesale and pass it off as education reform? It sounds like Ohio isn’t close to making this a reality, but it certainly got us thinking…
