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12 February 2009
Two things argue for mergers now more than ever: the need to improve the quality of education and a tough economy that means every taxpayer dollar should be used as prudently as possible.
This is not just about saving money, however. It's about better preparing students who will compete for jobs globally. Paying 99 school superintendents instead of the 322 Iowa had last school year will free up dollars for offering stronger academic programs - even if some assistant superintendents are added. Fewer secondary buildings to maintain will reduce costs, too, though it makes sense to keep children in elementary school close to home.
The backlash to McCoy's proposal was immediate. A story in Tuesday's Register by Staci Hupp said the Des Moines Democrat wants to target districts with under 750 students - nearly two-thirds of Iowa's 362 districts - for consolidation. They would have three years to plan for this. He also wants just one superintendent per county.
The headline over the follow-up story in Wednesday's Register: "Rural Iowans Denounce Merger Proposal." State Sen. David Johnson, an Ocheyedan Republican, argued on the Senate floor that northwest Iowa schools produce higher achievement scores and graduation rates than schools in Des Moines. He wanted to know how that amounts to inefficiency.
Here's how: It still is inefficient for a small district to have a superintendent and one or two principals, and several buildings, as some do.
And singling out Des Moines for academic comparison ignores the bigger picture. While the state's largest district needs to improve, so do many small districts. Some turn out above-average test scores, and others don't.As for graduation rates, if small districts grew somewhat larger, it would not have much impact, based on the state's 2008 Condition of Education Report. The graduation rate in districts with fewer than 300 students was 96 percent in 2007, and it still was 96 percent in districts with 300 to 999 students. Even in districts with 1,000 to 2,499 students it was 93 percent. In the largest enrollment category, 7,500-plus students, it dropped to 82 percent.
But McCoy is not asking for all districts to be 7,500 students-plus. He would set a minimum of 750. Exactly what that number should be - and how many superintendents really are needed - will be a matter of intense debate, if Iowans ever have it.
Many rural Iowans would rather not have that debate because they don't want to lose their schools, which are the social heart of the community, especially high schools and Friday night football.
Many Iowans in suburbs and cities don't want the debate because they like things the way they are, too. Yet there's plenty of inefficiency in more populated parts of the state. The Des Moines metro area, for example, counts more than a dozen school districts.
Giving students a world-class education means the state will have to change. That should include figuring out how to narrow the roughly $12,000-a-year gap in salaries between teachers in the smallest and largest districts, so rural areas struggle less to attract and keep math and science teachers. Merged districts will be able to pay better with their pooled resources, and the state may have to chip in as well when it can afford to do so.
About 70 percent of districts face declining enrollment - which translates into less money due to the state's per-pupil funding formula - along with reductions to their budgets because of the current economic crisis.
Yet they are supposed to put the new, mandatory Iowa Core Curriculum in place in the next couple years, with the goal of giving all students the same strong education foundation, no matter where they live.
Make this happen at a price Iowa can manage.
The Legislature should appoint a school-reorganization commission to oversee the merger process. This is needed in part to make exceptions for districts where consolidation would require too much travel time for students.
Surely McCoy isn't the only legislator who understands what needs to be done.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009902120348