Dear Editor,

Consolidation of Indiana school districts has resurfaced as a topic in policy discussions because of the release of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s Indiana Prosperity 2035 Plan. Not all agree with this proposal. The Indiana School Boards Association and the Indiana Small and Rural Schools Association believe that local control should prevail. From our perspective, there is nothing wrong with school consolidation or reorganization if it is initiated by the people in the communities affected.

Previous reviews of the topic have failed to consider key aspects of Indiana’s school funding and policy landscape. These fallacies continue in the current policy debate. We have been repeatedly told that Indiana is a state that funds students, not schools. Indiana’s policy of student-based funding has fueled the creation of more charter schools and private schools, many of which have student enrollments smaller than even our smallest school corporations. Today, there are approximately 105 charter schools in the state with an average student enrollment of 436 students. Conversely, there are only five school corporations in the state with enrollment below 500 students.

Nearly every year schools in rural areas close because of declining population. But Indiana’s school choice policies have allowed many of these schools to immediately reopen as charter schools, negating the savings for taxpayers. Any conversation about school consolidation that does not also attempt to reconcile Indiana’s school choice policies only considers half the issue.

Eliminating a superintendent position or a few positions in a central office does not make a bigger high school with more robust course offerings. While central office staff reductions may result in savings, they may very well be offset by the new larger school corporation adding central office positions to help manage more schools and educational programs for more students.

In many small towns and rural communities, the school is the anchor institution and the largest employer. The elimination of the good-paying, essential jobs that small schools provide can be crippling to the local economy. Parents choose small schools for their children because they value safety, smaller class sizes and low taxes.

Let us offer a few alternatives. First, provide grants for feasibility studies to examine voluntary consolidation. The last time Indiana funded such grants, it led directly to the consolidation of two school districts (Turkey Run and Rockville into North Parke).

Secondly, one of the significant reasons these discussions have fallen apart in the past has been the effect consolidation would have on local tax rates. About 10 years ago, the Indiana General Assembly forgave $92 million in charter school debt. Eliminating the debt obligations for school districts that voluntarily agree to consolidate could help facilitate additional mergers.

Chris Lagoni
Executive Director
Indiana Small and Rural Schools Association

Terry Spradlin
Executive Director
Indiana School Boards Association