The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
By David Grimes, The Quill Correspondent
STRONGHURST, Ill. Would a high school consolidation involving Southern, Union and Roseville school districts serve as a viable solution to the problem of shrinking student populations in rural areas where small districts are more often the rule than the exception?
While that question won't likely be answered anytime in the near future, representatives from those three districts met at Southern last week to weigh the pros and cons of a three-district agreement and chat informally about the possibilities.
All three districts share concerns about dwindling state funds available to small districts throughout the state of Illinois.
Projected figures shared at the meeting show Southern's high school enrollment at 174, Roseville at 107 and Union at 221 for the school year 2002-2003.
Combined enrollments at the three high schools are expected to average 416 students over the next five years.
While Southern is proud of the curriculum it now offers, just how long it will be able to offer what it does now is anyone's guess.
"Curriculum and finances are our most important concerns right now," said Karen Jack, a Southern school board member and a member of the school's Citizens Discovery Committee, a group created to explore school merger possibilities.
Quality class offerings for their student population are paramount concerns for all three of the districts.
With the possibility of increased course offerings accompanying a larger size student population, consolidation does carry the prospect of some attractive curriculum expansion.
More vo-tech program courses could be worked into schedules, for instance. A high school student population of 500 to 600 students was once thought to be the ideal size for a school to attract the benefits of classroom efficiency as well as expanded curriculum.
But Roseville Superintendent Don Frailey suggested that that number would probably be closer to 1,000 at the current time.
And he stressed that efficiency does not always translate into effectiveness.
For example, one teacher for 30 students may provide an ideal learning environment for some students, but one teacher for a class of just five students might provide a detrimental learning environment for others, depending on the type of students involved and the course being taught.
Finding available teachers in a shrinking pool of education professionals is another consideration.
Southern Superintendent Charlie Barber pointed out that many small districts can expect to find themselves on waiting lists for the likes of physics and industrial arts teachers in the next year or two.
Teachers already on a district payroll may be able to take on extra lesson plans per school day, but how many?
"We used to say that dealing with six preps a day is not teaching," Frailey noted. "It's baby-sitting."
Further talks including the three districts are planned, but not yet scheduled.
Roseville and Southern are currently involved in consolidation talks with Northwest, LaHarpe and Colchester school districts also, and a consolidation study involving those five districts being completed by Max Pierson of Western Illinois University.
Yorkwood was invited to attend the meeting with Southern, Union and Roseville but no representatives from that district were present.
All three districts are contiguous.
Referring to a recent article on the state of education in Illinois, Frailey said that five years ago school districts in the state ran up $31 million in deficit spending.
In the budget year for 2000, that figure increased to $885 million.
"Is the state pushing for consolidation?" Frailey questioned.
"Not openly. But the incentives are in place for those who do."