District OR-1: Consolidation and

Organizational Stability

Overview

• Community/District context• Consolidation movement• Organizational Stability Theory• District OR-1case• Future considerations

Palmyra

Bennet

Douglas

District OR-1 Public Schools

128.7 square miles

Bennet, Nebraska• Population of 730 (2011)• Community growth trend

(29%)• Comparatively high rate of

construction• 62,039 annual income• 3.2% poverty

Palmyra, Nebraska• Population of 548 (2011)• Flat Growth:• “Last week was the first sale

I’ve seen since I’ve been here” (Rob Hanger, Superintendent since 2008)

• 46,667 annual income• 6.8% poverty

Douglas, Nebraska• Population of 173

(2011)• Decline (15% loss)• $38,500 annual

income• 3.2 % poverty

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PalmyraBenne

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County Line

Phenomenon of School District Consolidation

• 1939-1940 – 117,108 districts• 2006-2007 – 13,862 districts• Decline of 88 percent

Duncombe and Yinger, 2010

And in Nebraska….

• 1,044 school districts in 1984• 257 school districts in 2005

Crogswell, 2009, p. 20

State Policies and Consolidation• Nebraska funding rewards consolidation

• Open enrollment exerts a negative impact on rural schools (Bassett, 2003)

• Funding policies are formulated to benefit larger districts with higher population concentrations

• Limited political power limits rural citizens oBassett, 2003 – claims rural consolidation is

“imposed by the 10 percent urban majority who are ignorant to the rural ways (in Blauwkamp, p. 4)”

Brief Overview of Nebraska Policy Related

to Consolidation

LB 806: Cost Grouping• Funding group influenced by “county population

density” or proximity to next 9-12 school

• District w/ 200 students received approximately $400,000 a year while another district with 250 students received $800,000 based on its physical proximately to another school district.

• Elimination of cost grouping by school size meant that one district was getting $572,000 in state aid the year prior to LB 806,… this year received only $5,200 in state aid b/c system distribution of population took precedence . (p. 90)

Argument FOR Consolidation:

District Economic Efficiency

o Lower administrative costso Shared & fewer facilities, reduced maintenance

costsoMore specialized teachers, more variety in

courses oMore staff = more peers for advice and

dialogueoAdditional funding for sports and extra-

curriculars

Argument AGAINST Consolidation:

Rural Community Instability

• Social capitaloCommunity identity & Cultural centers

• Fiscal capacityoOften a primary source of jobsoWhen payroll is gone, employees go

elsewhere, and so does their spending

• Population growtho Losing a school makes it harder to attract

young families

• Housing values

Principles of Community and School District Stability

• Principle of centripetalism• Principle of inclusiveness• Principle of distinctiveness

• Stability allows organizations to adapt to changes and demands and is vital for survival

(Thompson, 1967, cited in Bryant & Grady,1990)

Principle of centripetalismo Tendency of various social and economic

forces to centralize. Residents buy, sell, and trade in town.

oAnti-forces = anything that pulls away from this central tendency

Principle of inclusivenesso “togetherness”, belonging, part of something

Principle of distinctiveness oResidents of one town are distinct from the

next town (NE Lincoln, SE Lincoln) oWhen the ability to distinguish is lost,

community instability results

“School consolidation makes schooling a more cost-effective enterprise, but it does so by rupturing the connection between the school and its place in the local community. That loss harms both the students and the broader community.”

(Blauwkamp, Longo, Anderson, 2011, p. 3)

What does organizational stability

theory tell us about…..

• District OR-1?

• Each community in the service area?

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District OR-1 Public Schools

• Palmyra-Bennet merger, 1965

• Douglas dissolution in 1985

Centripetalism

• District population center has shifted from Palmyra to Bennet.

• “In other districts where I’ve worked, the school was the social and entertainment hub of the community. It’s not like that here.”

• “And we’re not the only show in town….”

• Loss of annexed land to Lincoln

Inclusiveness and Distinctiveness• Multiple very strong communities, all of

which USED to have their own schools and now use “somebody else’s school”

• “(When I came), you didn’t call it ‘Palmyra-Bennet elementary,’ you called it “Bennet Elementary and Palmyra Jr./Sr. High.

• Should the smaller community assume the identity of the school district into which it is merged?

Inclusiveness and

Distinctiveness• Each community has its own sports teams, and

this only increases the competition among the communities rather than pulling them together.

• District OR-1 athletic program is historically weak.

• Bussing was an issue due to feeling excluded. Each community wanted its share of transportation –”if the Palmyra students don’t have to travel to get to practice, then we should have our transportation covered as well.”

Inclusiveness and Distinctiveness

• “Douglas is a patchwork quilt.”

• When a new family comes in, the first thing that I ask is “What’s your address”?

How to deal with growth in this

situation?

• District OR-1 is uniquely situated in a geographic location that is enjoying significant growth.

• Kindergarten classes are, for the first time, packed.o 2 subsequent years of classes that are 75%

larger.o Schools are land-packed, all classes are being

used.• 2006 proactive, land acquisition move.

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ResourcesBerry, C. (2006/2007) School consolidationa nd Inequality, brookings papers on Education Policy, 9, 49-75.

Blauwkamp, J., Longo, P., Anderson, J. (2011). School consolidatio in nebrask: Economic efficiency vs. rural commnity life. The Online Journal of rural Research and Policy. 6, 1, 1-12. (2011)

Bryant, M.T. and Grady, M.L. (1990). Community factors threatening rural school district stability. Research in Rural Education, 6 (3), 21-26.

Cogswell (2009). Impacts of Nebraska legislative policies on selected small Nebraska school districts. A dissertation for Seton Hall University.

Cubberly, eP, a brief history of education (boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1922.

District OR 1 Public Schools State Report, 2011, accessed at http://www.districtor1.org/vnews/display.v/ART/3f6b25519559e

Duncombe and Yinger, 2010, School district consolidation the benefits and costs. the school administrator, 5(67) 10-17)

Fiscal Note: Legislative Fiscal Analyst Estimate, Revision 01, prepared by Inbody, R., on April 29, 2013, accessed at http://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/Current/PDF/FN/LB407_20130430-131613.pdf

Hudson, C.C., 1986, Exonomic-based, tri-level funding for Nebraska’s public schools, Journal of Education Finance, 12, 1, 1-8.

NCSA, 1985-1987 legislative Overview, http://schoolfinance.ncsa.org/1985-1987-review

Rolle, R.A., Harris, P., and Burrello, L.C., A heuristic examination of education finance policy, special needs revenue components, and flexible expenditure possibilities. 90-106. in Unifying Educational systems: Leadership and Policy Perspectives (burrello, L.C., Sailor, W., and Kleinhammer-Tramill, J. - Routledge, 2012 – accessed via google eBook preview

Sorensen, R. (2011). 2011 Annual Report. Nebraska Department of Revenue Property Assessment Division. Accessed at www.revenue.ne.gov.

US Census Bureau. Statistical Snapsnots. Accessed at Census.gov

Notable items

• Some have argued that the school equalization formulas are taxpayer equalization rather than school equality.

• How well are schools converting tax dollars into graduated, productive individuals?

• Efficiency must take into account how inputs were converted into valued outputs.

• (smith and street, 2006, as cited in cogsworth, 97)• Rural development policy should have an impact on

state educational policy