Consolidation of Rural Schools Provokes Concern

As populations and school enrollment continue to decline in rural school districts across the country there is a growing trend towards school and district consolidation. States such as West Virginia, Arkansas, North Dakota, Maine, and others with large rural areas have closed numerous schools and collapsed district operations in an effort to save money and chase the concept of larger, more diverse, and better-resourced large schools. Instead, their efforts have increased dropout rates, lowered achievement, and cost states more money than operating separate schools and districts would have.

The movement towards school consolidation is based on the notion that reducing the total number of administrators working in the state will dramatically decrease administrative costs, and that sharing resources will allow previously separate districts to afford more programs, better teachers and professional development, and superior facilities. This concept has been endorsed by lawmakers in numerous states with sizable rural populations. However, substantial research has shown that no studied efforts at consolidation have displayed substantial “economies of scale,” and in fact most such efforts have resulted in increased per-pupil costs. These might stem in part from dramatically higher transportation costs, the need for new and improved facilities, and higher teacher salaries in the consolidated district.

Despite this evidence, policymakers in some states persist in their efforts to reduce the total number of schools and districts operating within their state. As a result, many advocates have organized in an effort to oppose the growing consolidation movement. One such group is Challenge West Virginia, which is profiled in a recent Ford Foundation Report that details the plight of rural schools and districts. Challenge West Virginia has seen notable success in a state that has, over the past several years, rapidly decimated the number of schools and districts operating within its boundaries. Though faced with an increasingly discouraged and difficult to reach group of constituents, Challenge West Virginia has nonetheless been able to impact numerous local and statewide elections, most notably the recent gubernatorial election, which featured two candidates opposed to further consolidation.

These activities, in West Virginia and in rural areas across the country, are especially important in the context of the rural communities that are rapidly losing their schools. Not only does increased distance from a school face students with daunting and miserable commutes that impact social, academic, and extracurricular life, but it also prevents parents from being as involved in their children’s schools. The Ford Foundation cites research by the Rural Trust that has shown the enormous positive impact a school can have on a community by providing jobs, educating students, engaging the community, and fueling the economy.

Fueling the economy is one of the most important functions a public school serves, and numerous studies have illustrated the decidedly positive impact that small schools have on student achievement, especially amongst low-income students. Though many urban education advocates have recognized this correlation and begun to implement small-school reforms, the gradual consolidation of rural districts and schools continues, to the obvious detriment of rural communities and rural students. Growing awareness of the evidence in favor of local community schools in rural areas has influenced Wisconsin and Louisiana to adopt policies against consolidation, but these states are exceptions.

Prepared by Nelly Ward, March 14, 2005