Federal policies, enrollment declines spur more closings and consolidations in rural school districts

Cheerleader Tiffany Keller, right, is only a sophomore at Pocahontas High School but has probably led her last high-school cheer. The school is closing, the latest in an accelerating trend, reports The Roanoke Times: "Since 2000, at least 22 schools have closed in rural Virginia. More closings are expected with dwindling enrollment, aging buildings and a declining economy." In Southwest Virginia, other reasons include "their region's lack of political clout and education policies that benefit more populated districts," David Harrison reports.

The latter point is a sore one for the Rural School and Community Trust, which touts the value of smaller schools. It is hammering away at changes in the federal Title I program for districts with many poor students, which doles out money "not only on the percentage of eligible children, but also on the total number of eligible children, which means that small cities or rural areas get less than other, more populated districts," Harrison writes, citing Marty Strange, the group's policy director, who figures "those inequities will cost the Tazewell County school system $49,079 this year."

The other big federal factor is the No Child Left Behind Act, "which requires failing schools to offer to pay for private tutoring or to bus students to better performing schools," Harrison explains. "Few private tutoring companies set up shop in isolated areas, and few students from struggling schools will volunteer to ride a bus 30 miles to a better one, Strange said. Then there's the requirement that teachers get more training, which has heightened competition among school districts for qualified teachers and driven up teacher salaries."

Larger schools offer more courses. "smaller schools give students more support, smaller classes and inspire a devoted following in their community," Harrison writes. "On the other, those small schools are becoming increasingly expensive to run. ... But school closings are not always successful. A 2004 West Virginia study found that school districts in that state spent more money per student than they did before closing schools. And West Virginia has not seen an improvement in student performance despite having fewer schools and spending more money, the report found."

One additional expense in Tazewell County will be longer bus rides for students who now attend Pocahontas High, in an old coal town hard by the West Virginia border. Tiffany Keller, 16, told Harrison she doesn't think expect to try out for cheerleader at Tazewell High. "It would feel disloyal to cheer for another school." (Read more)