The Garden City Telegram
Email this story | Add Your Comment
| Read (0) Comments
Consolidation not likely option for crowding
Published 9/5/2007 in News : Education By Emily Behlmann
Even if USD 457 found a nearby school district that wanted to consolidate -- which is unlikely, according to several nearby superintendents -- it probably wouldn't solve the facility problems Garden City High School is facing, members of a study group said Tuesday night.
Consolidation is one of 10 options the GCHS Facilities Study Group is considering to address what administrators say is an overcrowded high school with inadequate science labs, music rooms, gymnasiums, locker rooms, athletic practice fields and other facilities. The group plans to recommend an action to the USD 457 Board of Education in October.
The only way consolidation would help GCHS' situation is if there is a nearby school district that could absorb the 400 to 500 students that stretch the school beyond its ideal capacity, Deputy Superintendent Steve Karlin said. The school has been expanded to fit about 1,500 people comfortably, but enrollment is nearing 2,000.
Karlin said he doesn't know of any school district a reasonable distance away with enough space that the two school districts together would have adequate facilities. Superintendents in Holcomb, Deerfield, Lakin and Ingalls all said their schools don't have that kind of capacity.
"There's still a building issue out there," he said.
The process also would be a challenge, said Craig Wheeler, co-chairman of the study group.
Consolidation requires an agreement between two districts to become one single school district. The plan must be mutual and must be approved by a majority of electors in what would become the consolidated district, and by the Kansas State Board of Education, according to state statute. The two districts don't necessarily have to be contiguous.
Usually, consolidation occurs when each district has something to gain from the action, such as funds, facilities or programs, Garden City Superintendent Rick Atha said.
Robert O'Connor, superintendent at USD 363 Holcomb, said his district doesn't have an interest in consolidating. Many in the community, including teachers and students, seem to prefer the smaller atmosphere USD 363 can provide, he said.
"We watch with interest from afar, but have no interest in getting involved," he said of USD 457's facility study.
Holcomb administrators were invited to Tuesday's meeting but couldn't attend because of various activities and other conflicts, he said.
Dave Novack, superintendent at USD 477 Ingalls, also said he doesn't think his district stands to gain from consolidation, especially since the smaller district -- with enrollment of about 250 -- allows for more personal contact with students.
"We feel like we have a lot of good things happening," he said.
Jon Ansley, superintendent at USD 216 Deerfield, and Randy Steinle, superintendent at USD 215 Lakin, also said they didn't think consolidation would be a likely option. Communities have a lot of pride in their school districts, Ansley said.
In a report from the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy, a Kansas-based nonprofit think tank, policy fellow John LaPlante wrote that proponents favor consolidation because they see it as a cost-saving measure. Additional arguments are that it can provide a greater base for specialized offerings and that teacher pay can be higher in a larger, better-funded district, he wrote.
However, the plan doesn't necessarily save a lot of money, and it can cause harm by reducing the amount of competition between schools, he wrote.
If USD 457 consolidated, it probably wouldn't reduce costs significantly, study group members said Tuesday. Although it might be possible to streamline administration slightly, there would be a larger district to manage, board Vice President John Schoepner said.
He said each school still would need a principal, and that even if a single superintendent worked in one community, the consolidated district probably would still want at least a deputy superintendent based in the other community.
There also would be more work for the transportation department, for example, so there couldn't be much reduction in administration there, group members said.
In addition, the district probably would need to pay administrators more if they were overseeing a larger area, board President Mike Utz said.
Found 0 comment(s)!
Twitter Updates
