-
Iowa is a leader in health care for kids: This year, the Legislature took the final step in extending health insur... http://bit.ly/cuUP9n
about 4 hours ago -
More Iowa children benefit from quality preschool: All children can benefit from preschool education, but for far ... http://bit.ly/bcitQP
Thursday, 29 July 2010 10:14
-
Improve your land with the Conservation Reserve Program: Have you been thinking about what to do with land that is... http://bit.ly/9ON7o2
Tuesday, 27 July 2010 15:05
|
10 February 2009
BY STACI HUPP •
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• FEBRUARY 10, 2009
A state lawmaker who says rural schools have been too slow to merge on their own will push legislation that would force almost two-thirds of Iowa's 362 districts to consolidate and would cut the number of superintendents to one for each county.
State Sen. Matt McCoy, a Democrat from Des Moines, wants to target districts with fewer than 750 students for consolidation.
Maine and Arkansas have passed similar laws. Pennsylvania's governor unveiled a plan this month that would force most school districts to consolidate.
But the idea of taking school merger decisions out of local hands has fallen short in Iowa.
School officials across Iowa are wary of the idea, which they say would strip away local control, create an unequal workload among superintendents in urban and rural counties, and shift the focus away from students.
"I'm afraid that the kind of role that the superintendent plays today would change so significantly," said Tom Downs, superintendent of the Southeast Polk school district. "And it would become purely a management position."
State leaders agree school mergers haven't come fast enough as Iowa's population shifts from rural areas to cities. About 70 percent of Iowa's 3 million residents live in 10 counties, McCoy said.
Some rural Iowa districts operate with one school, a handful of students in some grades and a superintendent shared by other districts. Deep River-Millersburg was one of those districts until voters agreed to merge with English Valleys last fall. Deep River-Millersburg enrolled about 100 students at the time.
"Obviously the financial times are causing everyone to look at it," said Alan Jensen, the superintendent of Deep River-Millersburg, English Valleys and Iowa Valley school districts. "It's a very, very emotional issue."
State lawmakers already have set the stage for school consolidation.
Iowa provides financial incentives to school districts that share resources and study plans to merge. Lawmakers also will phase out a state budget guarantee that traditionally bailed out school districts battered by declining enrollment. Enrollment is shrinking in 70 percent of Iowa districts, state records show.
Still, English Valleys and Deep River-Millersburg were the only school districts to merge in 2008, state records show.
"The states that have moved more rapidly have had more of a state focus on the matter and have not left it all up to the local areas to make these decisions," said Judy Jeffrey, the state's top education official.
Jeffrey declined to comment about McCoy's proposed legislation. But she acknowledged that it's time for Iowa leaders to weigh other options for school consolidation.
McCoy's plan initially would cut the number of school districts to fewer than 150. Each of Iowa's 99 counties would have one superintendent, business manager, curriculum director and transportation manager.
The proposal would allow for more assistant administrators and higher salaries for superintendents of urban counties, he said.
"It's going to be hard, but we need to start the discussion," he said. "Even if I'm not able to pass this bill, I still feel like we have moved a long way down the road. Ultimately the day is coming."
Reporter Jennifer Jacobs contributed to this article.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090210/NEWS02/902100400/0/NEWS01