'Fragmented' School Districts: A Complicated and Controversial Issue
In much of the country, school districts survive even when they have few students. In an era of budget cutbacks, these districts are prime targets for consolidation.
Cook County, Ill., has nearly 150 elementary and high school districts. Students in the Pittsburgh metro area are assigned to 105 different local districts. More than 500 districts are scattered across Oklahoma, with fewer than 1,300 students enrolled in each.
Numbers such as these have long drawn the ire of policymakers, and in an era of budget cutbacks, “fragmented” school districts serve as prime targets for consolidation. At the beginning of this year, lawmakers in Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma all introduced legislation aimed at merging school districts or combining their administrative duties. But such proposals frequently are met with fierce opposition from parents and teachers.
School districts with very small enrollments are actually quite common across the country. A Governing analysis of federal data from the 2013-2014 school year found that a third of all local districts were made up of only one or two public schools. Nearly half of all districts nationally -- 46 percent -- serve fewer than 1,000 students. While many of these districts are in rural or outlying areas, 2,050 are in metro areas.
| Enrollment | Districts | Share of Total |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 1K | 5,827 | 46.1% |
| 1,000 to <2,000 | 2,350 | 18.6% |
| 2,000 to <5,000 | 2,559 | 20.2% |
| 5,000-10,000 | 1,033 | 8.2% |
| More than 10,000 | 875 | 6.9% |
| Number of Schools | Districts | Share of Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | 4,227 | 33.4% |
| 3 to 4 | 3,669 | 29.0% |
| 5 to 6 | 1,733 | 13.7% |
| 7 to 8 | 841 | 6.7% |
| 9 to 10 | 537 | 4.2% |
| More than 10 | 1,637 | 12.9% |
The crux of the pro-consolidation argument is that merging smaller districts will allow for deploying limited resources more efficiently.
The most high-profile recent consolidation fight has played out in Oklahoma, which faces a severe budget shortfall stemming from lower oil revenues. One proposal would consolidate most of the state’s K-8 districts that have earned “D” or “F” ratings with nearby independent districts. State Rep. Lee Denney, the bill’s sponsor, says she wants to cut overhead costs and enable districts to offer a greater variety of subjects -- particularly in math, science and foreign languages -- to better prepare students for college. “In Oklahoma, our rural cities often think we’re trying to take away their community and sense of pride,” 'Fragmented' School Districts: A Complicated and Controversial Issue:
