Iowa school districts have incentive to merge

A dozen rural school districts in western and northern Iowa have agreed to merge into six districts next year. Other districts around the state are considering similar plans. "Iowa is on the verge of its biggest wave of school mergers in 15 years as more districts trade hometown identity for more financial security," Staci Hupp of the Des Moines Register reports. "Part of the push was driven by school leaders who want state incentive money for mergers before it disappears in 2014." Iowa will have 353 school districts next year, down from 458 in 1965.

"School mergers historically have sparked fears of long bus rides for children, lifeless small towns and big classes across Iowa, a state steeped in local control," Hupp writes. "Unlike the boardroom battles and petitions that marked school mergers of the past, however, the latest mergers had high voter approval rates in most cases." Tim Gilson, a University of Northern Iowa education professor, explained: "Even though from an emotional standpoint it's never easy, people don't feel as much like they're losing their identity." Hupp notes the acceptance of such mergers does vary depending on which community gets the new high school.

Others say rural areas have simply accepted dire realities. For instance, school enrollments are falling in over two-thirds of Iowa districts, but student achievement expectations continue to climb. "When districts are looking at rolling out the Iowa Core Curriculum and the mandates that come with that, some districts just can't do it," Gilson said. "It's not fiscally sound and efficient to offer a calculus course for two or three students." A state budget guarantee that prevents the state from cutting aid to districts with declining enrollments ends in 2013. (Read more)