LM Jan 2020

District A

District C

District B

Why Consolidation Needs To Remain A Local Decision

By Jason Nevel, IASA Director of Social Media and Publications

Anytime the topic of school consolidation is broached, someone will inevitably pronounce, “The hardest animal to kill in Illinois is a school mascot.” The saying is based off the idea that pride too often prevents residents in communities from seeing the positive side of consolidation. However, the reality is, consolidation is much more complicated than simply losing a mascot. In some cases, equalizing wage scales can potentially cost millions and other factors, like the possible need for new facilities and transportation, have to be considered. That’s why school consolidation in Illinois is currently driven at the local level, with the state providing incentives to make it economically feasible. There are simply too many factors and concerns to consider for a one-size-fits-all approach to work effectively.

Unfortunately, another effort has emerged to strip away local control and force some school districts to consolidate. In December, the Property Tax Relief Task Force issued a report that recommended merging separate elementary and high school districts into unit districts over a 10-year period. It’s too early to say if this plan will garner enough support in the General Assembly, but the concept, nonetheless, requires a deeper look. According to supporters, forcing schools to consolidate might allow for administrative savings and a pooling of resources for academic needs and education personnel. In reality, however, forcing schools to consolidate has major consequences, some that could be dire for school districts, that every policymaker needs to be aware of. It is the belief of IASA that the costs for either the state— or the local district if current statute is changed—could be enormous. We also believe there are better ways for districts to pool resources than forced consolidation.

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LM January 2020