It’s odd for a Republican to argue for bigger, more centralized government. But that’s what Governor Mitch Daniels is advocating in his school consolidation reform proposal.
Using as his base recommendations first put forth by the Kernan-Shepard Commission, Daniels wants to force any public school corporation in the state which has a cumulative total in grades K-12 of less than 1,000 students to consolidate its administrative functions with a larger school corporation.
Included in this proposal — which would currently affect 46 public school districts in Indiana — is a guarantee that no high school in affected districts could close for five years. On its face, the proposal is intended to save money by eliminating administrators, who are often the most well-compensated employees in a school corporation, and instead funnel that money back to the classroom.
But even if that were the case, the aspect of this proposal that should get everyone’s attention is the five-year guarantee. After that, there would be nothing to stop the closing of one of the high schools in a newly consolidated district. Which is exactly what would happen in many instances as the communities who now have lost control of their own school districts would become minority members of new school corporations which would be largely controlled by what was the largest corporation before the merger.
It’s highly unlikely that a larger school district which absorbed a smaller district would not eventually want to consolidate schools. How many times in this state have cities annexed regions just beyond their borders in order to expand their city limits? The same thing is likely to happen to these smaller high schools.
In our area, if the Daniels’ plan passes, that would endanger Barr-Reeve High School as the Barr-Reeve Community Schools as a whole are under the 1,000 K-12 threshold. After five years, the Barr-Reeve Vikings would be in danger of passing into history, just like the Odon Bulldogs, Plainville Midgets, the Elnora Owls, or a host of other schools around the state whose monikers are now only a memory since the last round of consolidation began in the 1950s. Currently, North Daviess Community Schools would be in the clear, but by less than 100 students. It would be easy to see North Daviess High School threatened in the future should there be any further cutbacks at NSWC Crane, one of the largest employers in the area. Other nearby high schools who would similarly be endangered by this plan are Shoals, Wood Memorial, Northeast Dubois and Shakamak.
As for being a money saving proposal, Daniels’ plan is not based on any data produced by studies showing that the money saved, if any, would improve educational performance. In fact, it’s not likely that money will be saved just by consolidating school corporations. Larger school corporations will not want to assume the responsibility for hundreds more students placed on the same staff as was previously in place. Inevitably, superintendents will hire more high priced assistants to handle the increased workload.
The only way to see real reductions in administrative staff would be for a total reorganization of school corporations county by county, something the governor is not proposing and which the public is unlikely to support. In fact, a recently published poll by the Indianapolis Star showed tepid public support for Daniels’ proposal.
The Daniels plan is, at best, a stop gap attempt to redirect money in public schools. At worst, it will be the death knell for several high schools across the state and a blow to local control over education.
