How small is too small? State, local officials ponder pros, cons of school consolidation
Editor's note: This is the second in a two-part series looking at the history and future of small school districts.
When it comes to a school district, how small is too small?
Representatives of the California Legislative Analyst's Office asked local officials that question when they visited Humboldt County to research a report on consolidating the state's smallest school districts, said Humboldt County Superintendent of Schools Garry Eagles. Members of the Legislative Analyst's Office spoke with local education officials, representatives of the teaching and classified staff unions and local school district superintendents and principals.
Analyst office members visited six to eight different counties before coming out with a 22-page report in May focusing on the pros and cons of consolidation. One of the primary subjects analyst office representatives discussed with Humboldt County Office of Education officials was why districts are the way they are, Eagles said.
”Sacramento doesn't quite understand why there are so many small districts,” he said. “They said they were looking at districts of under 100 (students). There is such a thing as being
