Redistricting & Consolidation
Education Funding
News in Brief
Wyo. Consolidation Proposal Seen as Politically Toxic
A proposal to slash the number of school districts in Wyoming by more than half in order to save money doesn't appear it will make the grade in the state legislature this year.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Gov. Seeks Consolidation Of Superintendents in Maine
Gov. Paul LePage believes Maine has a glut of school superintendents, and he intends to pressure districts into consolidating administrations with the two-year budget he will propose in early 2017.
School & District Management
New Plan Would Keep Nevada’s Sprawling Clark Co. District Intact
A year after state lawmakers moved to break up the nation’s fifth-largest school district, a new plan instead would reorganize and decentralize it.
Families & the Community
Vt. Residents Vote Against Consolidating School Districts (Video)
In a small region of Vermont, a fierce debate raged over consolidating five tiny school districts into one.
States
Vermont Consolidation Effort Profiled by NewsHour Fails
By consolidating some of the state's 280 school districts state officials are hoping to save millions of dollars and give students in small towns greater access to academically rigorous programs and more electives like the arts.
School & District Management
Video
Merging Small School Districts: Showdown in Vermont
With a plummeting student enrollment and skyrocketing education costs, Vermont lawmakers decided last year to begin an ambitious and controversial experiment to consolidate its vast system of public schools. The law, Act 46, intends to dramatically reduce the number of districts in the mostly rural state-there are currently 280 of them-by 2020 using a series of tax incentives.
Supporters argue that by sharing resources more efficiently, the state will save millions of dollars and give students access to academically rigorous programs and more electives like the arts.
But opponents say the initiative stabs at the very heart of Vermont, with its hundreds of tiny school houses and, more importantly, Vermonters' deeply-felt sense of local control.
In this report, John Tulenko of Education Week profiles a northern region of Vermont where residents are sharply divided on whether to combine its five school districts.
Read more about this issue on edweek.org. This video aired on PBS NewsHour on May 31, 2016.
Education
NewsHour Profiles Vermont School-Consolidation Effort
A law aiming to cut in half the number of school districts by 2020 is full of carrots and sticks and has set off some fierce local battles.
Families & the Community
The Controversy Over School Consolidation in Rural Vermont (Video)
Plummeting student enrollment and skyrocketing education costs have led Vermont lawmakers to begin a controversial consolidation of its vast mostly rural education system. But are Vermont residents willing to give up their small community schools?
School & District Management
Rural Districts Merge, Close as Enrollment Drops
The majority of Iowa's counties have experienced population declines since 2010.
Federal
Consolidation Push Roils Vermont Landscape
A state law aimed at encouraging—or prodding—small, rural districts to merge has hit some speed bumps on the road to implementation.
School & District Management
S.C. Superintendent Proposes Rural Consolidation, Virtual Programs
State lawmakers must create a plan to improve rural schools in response to a 2014 state Supreme Court ruling.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Education Department Begins to Assess ESSA-Era Role
The new K-12 law contains checks on the U.S. secretary's authority, but the agency still has policy tools in its shed, especially in the areas of civil rights and data resources.
States
West Virginia Board Votes Down Controversial Fayette County Consolidation Plan
The county's citizens fought state efforts to close down schools and build a new $56 million high school with a 15-year $11 million loan.
School & District Management
School Facilities Fuel State-Local Tensions in W.Va. District
A consolidation plan for Fayette County schools pushed by the state schools chief that aims to shutter dilapidated facilities and open a new one has proved divisive.