School District Consolidation Pros And Cons: Can Merging Fragmented School Districts Lead To Better Educational System?

School district consolidation has been looked upon as the solution to declining enrollment and inadequate government financial support in many fragmented school districts spread throughout the U.S. However, like with any proposition, there are always two sides of the coin—the upside and the downside. It is, therefore, a must to take a step back and look at school district consolidation pros and cons so as to make an informed decision whether to support this move by state representatives.

The Pros of School District Consolidation

According to Governing, by consolidating school districts, there is a higher chance for the government to deploy limited resources with utmost efficiency. It will also help improve enrollment and minimize financial constraints, both of which are basic problems in fragmented school districts. This move is all the more needed considering the budget cutbacks that government has been implementing.

One of the most recent school district consolidation controversies was in Oklahoma involving State Rep. Lee Denney's bill where smaller districts will be consolidated with independent districts near them. According to the representative, she wanted to cut costs and to allow districts to offer a variety of subjects, to better prepare students for college education, exposing them to a much wider curriculum offered by larger schools. Although with a noble purpose, this was met with strong opposition from parents and educators, leaving many representatives facing a wall.

The Cons of School District Consolidation

The negative side of school district consolidation has been primarily opposed by parents and educators alike in consolidated districts due to somewhat personal reasons. For one, many of them don't want to lose their community identity the moment the school district where their child belongs gets consolidated with another.

According to K-State, another negative side that educators and parents look at is the loss of history, especially if they themselves have attended a school slated for consolidation. Class size is also one problem since the process will only be favorable if consolidation would result in the ideal class size of 10 to 20 students, but not if it would result in having a bloated class size of 30 to 40 students.

Essentially, looking at school district consolidation pros and cons could lead to an informed decision whether to support the move of representatives in consolidating fragmented school districts. How about you? What do you think of this process? Will it lead to better education for American schoolchildren?