PA to reduce 500 school district to 100?

[Dredly]

http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbc.../NEWS/90204016

Pa. gov calls for 'full-scale' school mergers to consolidate 500 districts into 100

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Ed Rendell says having fewer school districts in Pennsylvania will ease the burden of local education costs on people who pay property taxes.

Rendell said Wednesday he wants a legislative commission to study the best way to consolidate the state's 500 school districts. Rendell says he'd like Pennsylvania to have no more than 100 public school systems.

Rendell says having fewer school districts would spread the local share of school costs over a wider range of property owners.

But Tim Allwein of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association says his group hasn't found evidence that school district mergers save substantial amounts of money.

The last major state-ordered consolidation of Pennsylvania school districts occurred in the 1960s, when the state had more than 2,000 districts.

[jmiro]

Bigger school districts=bigger schools=Bigger classrooms=more parents choosing home schooling or private schools.
Eitherway it isnt about what is better for the kids its about saving money. And we will just fall further behind the curve education wise. They consolidated schools here it rose the the class room size and the population of home schooling and private schools. In just one year. That takes the burden off of the goverment and puts it into the families hands.

[imperialism2024]

Translation: Rendell wants to gerrymander school districts in order to group high-income/high-property-value areas with low-income neighborhoods that will vote for him. That's my guess, at least...

[Paradigm]

Somehow I bet "No Unionized Teacher Left Behind" will be a core part of the policy...


Also, I don't like that the great teachers will get lumped in with the terrible ones. Same with the students. Good parents want to go where the good schools are...if it's one big school, I can definitely see an explosion in private schooling and homeschooling.

[str8shooter]

It won't save a damn nickel and Rendell knows it. All it will do is what Eddie and his pals in Philly have been trying to do for years, and that's get some of the money back that those that can afford to leave that shit hole take with them. I chose my home specifically because of the school district and I'm closing in on $10k a year in school tax because of it. My property value has already been hit hard enough, and I'll be damned if I'm going to sit back and watch school district boundries be redrawn so Eddie can send my money to Philly and devalue my house even further.

[knight0334]

About damn time. Just about every other state has their school district match the county line. So there is only one district per county, and only one bunch of elected/appointed school board sucking revenue out of the tax payers. Why pay for 2-5 groups of school board members when 1 board will suffice?

You cant tell me that it couldn't work in PA too. I went to school in Hillsborough County/School District Florida. We then had 15 highschools, 20-25 Jr highs, and 50-75 elementary schools in 1/one/uno/single countywide school district.

[ChamberedRound]

Translation: Rendell wants to gerrymander school districts in order to group high-income/high-property-value areas with low-income neighborhoods that will vote for him. That's my guess, at least...

He does want this type of grouping, but not because of an election. He's in his 2nd term, he only cares about votes insofar as it pertains to his crony friends. It's more about the same-old tired mantra of the Democratic Party: wealth redistribution. Group high-income/high-property-value areas with low-income neighborhoods in order to have the those high-incomes pay for the rest.

It won't save a damn nickel and Rendell knows it. All it will do is what Eddie and his pals in Philly have been trying to do for years, and that's get some of the money back that those that can afford to leave that shit hole take with them. I chose my home specifically because of the school district and I'm closing in on $10k a year in school tax because of it. My property value has already been hit hard enough, and I'll be damned if I'm going to sit back and watch school district boundries be redrawn so Eddie can send my money to Philly and devalue my house even further.

+1. A more specific case of the point I was trying to make.

[ChamberedRound]

Why pay for 2-5 groups of school board members when 1 board will suffice?

Because consolidating will put too much power in the hands of those people. It's bad enough that anyone can run for a board position without having any qualifications or background in education, now we want to consolidate that inexperienced authority and power to a smaller group? I don't. Smaller districts and more boards means tax-paying citizens have a better chance of having their voice heard at a board meeting.

The problem with our government in general is that it's become too disconnected from the people; this type of consolidation only amplifies that problem.

[Dredly]

He does want this type of grouping, but not because of an election. He's in his 2nd term, he only cares about votes insofar as it pertains to his crony friends. It's more about the same-old tired mantra of the Democratic Party: wealth redistribution. Group high-income/high-property-value areas with low-income neighborhoods in order to have the those high-incomes pay for the rest.

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!

Rendell says having fewer school districts would spread the local share of school costs over a wider range of property owners.

[5711-Marine]

Have a look at this from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Q2 2003 Business Review

Should Philadelphia Suburbs help their central city?

The solution is to strengthen city finances. To this end, suburban residents might wish to make a contribution, most realistically done through adjustments in state assistance to local governments. If done correctly, suburban fiscal assistance to the central city can be a high-return investment in suburban jobs, growth, and house values.