Mergers might help some school districts

The proposal to merge some of the state’s smaller school districts to save money and use resources more efficiently is worth exploring. But don’t look for it to be a cheap and easy way to fix all the problems of poor, rural districts that have been unable to meet the needs of their students for decades.

The S.C. Department of Education released a study last week showing that consolidating smaller school districts could save tens of millions of dollars. The study focused on 32 rural districts that successfully sued the state in 1993, saying the state did not provide enough money to educate their children.

The study suggests that districts could save up to $35 million if they work in pairs to share administrative and transportation costs. Five school districts consolidating some services could save close to $90 million, the study found.

We remain skeptical that the savings would be that large. While reducing the number of administrators and packing more students onto buses could save money, the figures floated by this study seem overly optimistic.

S.C. Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman also notes that the state would likely have to provide incentives to encourage districts to consolidate.

Spearman said the state could make up the difference in teacher salaries between two merging school districts or give money to two districts that want new schools if they agree to merge and build only one.

To her credit, Spearman is not proposing to force mergers among districts. She said that while some lawmakers favor that approach, the idea has not received widespread support in the Legislature.

We agree that any effort to merge districts must have the support of the communities affected. In many cases, local schools are among the only remaining institutions that hold small communities together.

Sacrificing the individual identity of a community to save money on education could prove a difficult tradeoff. But if residents and local educators buy in, the effort could be worthwhile.

Again, however, this proposal is not a magic bullet to meet all the needs of crumbling schools in the so-called “Corridor of Shame.” The state has an obligation – both legal and moral – to ensure that all students throughout South Carolina have access to an adequate education.

This legislative session, lawmakers have done little to answer a state Supreme Court order to improve public education in poor districts that have an inadequate tax base to meet the needs of students. Consolidation alone is not enough.

This story was originally published April 18, 2017 at 6:51 PM with the headline "Mergers might help some school districts."