What are your thoughts about school district consolidation?
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Gov. Matt Meyer is backing consideration of major changes in the state’s educational system. “We must reduce bureaucracy and demand accountability to produce actual gains in student performance,” he said. Among the possible changes, based on Redding Consortium recommendations, is a consolidation of districts. Do you support this idea? What would Delaware gain? Or lose?
Delaware has three counties. Why not three school districts? — Gary Knox
One per county is all that we need. Every little town doesn’t need a school district. — Howard Brobst
One in each county and eliminate superintendents. Make the secretary of education oversee the districts. Instead of hiring more people in the Department of Education, hire them in the schools! — Marian Parrish Coker
It was this way years ago. New Castle County had Area 1, Area 2, Area 3 and so on. Eventually, it changed to what it is now. — Taylor Marie
After 30 years in education in Delaware, there is no question that we should consolidate by county, but vocational districts should be handled separately, as well as cross-state districts like Delmar. It has a multitude of issues that are different than any other district because of being half in Maryland. We have far more administrators than we need and too few instructors. Each county has its own unique circumstances that should be addressed separately, but we don’t need 19 districts in a state this small. One district superintendent has only a handful of schools, compared to another with 20. There are vocational districts with only one school and a superintendent, as well. And then, there’s a huge building in downtown Dover, the John G. Townsend Building, holding the Department of Education, as well as a huge building on Hazlettville Road housing more administration, plus satellite offices for adult education and such throughout each county. How on Earth we are testing as low as we are makes no sense! Apparently, it isn’t administrators who solve the problem of low test scores. It’s more good instructors, untethered so they can teach how children learn. Not Common Core and all the other stuff that administrations dream up. It’s good old-fashioned teaching of the basics. Reading, writing and “’rithmatic.” This isn’t rocket science. — Sue Harris
Have the pros and cons of this been made public? How do we know whether it will be better or save money? — Tracy L. Thomas
The biggest issue is school board representation. We need to get back to school boards that represent taxpayers and not the schools. — Diane Butters-Eastburn
Look at all the bureaucrats in these districts. Each one has a superintendent making six figures, then all the staff that has to support each one. Have one per county in Kent and Sussex, and maybe two in New Castle. I grew up in a city where the school district was the entire city. It had 15 schools. The savings could be put into teachers’ salaries or improvements to the buildings, instead of constantly taxing the homeowners. — Rick Kerchevall
I prefer no! However, if it happens, no more referenda. — David Henderson
I prefer yes. One per county, max, makes a lot more sense. Get rid of all the overhead. Get rid of the corruption, which is 100% there. — Tim Hurst
How can anyone make a decision without knowing the pros and cons of the suggestion? The goal should be a vast improvement in state scores. Are we certain that having a zillion districts is what led to the poor performance of students in Delaware? — Ellen Hart Richardson
No. School districts would lose their independence and individual needs per their area. Kent County needs are different than New Castle needs. Same as Sussex; needs are different. Each district is individualized to their students’ needs. Why ruin what is working? — Denise Bella
This gets brought up every decade, before a “committee” realizes it’s not affordable. — Steve McCarron
Consolidating won’t eliminate administration costs. It will add new layers of bureaucracy that waste even more money. It is bad enough that the state provides so much funding and the administrative costs of overseeing that funding. — Bill Rhodes
No! Systems are already too large, especially in Sussex County. Bigger is not always better. It just adds to “administration” and doesn’t improve student learning. — Kathi White
A business pursues consolidation to create efficiencies, save money and improve service. But let’s remember: The government is in charge of public schools. An American Institutes for Research analysis concludes that the northern New Castle County school district consolidation will not save money because of the “leveling up” of salaries of teachers and paraprofessionals. In the southern part of the state, it might make more sense, if local community interests are protected. Either way, a compelling case must be made for substantial improvements, given that current research suggests that savings for taxpayers, fiscal efficiencies and curricular improvements are unlikely. — Citizens for Delaware Schools
