Make no mistake
about it. Calvin Jackson will not fill in the specifics of how consolidation
should work for your school district.
The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by David Grimes -Quill Correspondent
Make no mistake
about it. Calvin Jackson will not fill in the specifics of how consolidation
should work for your school district.
But, he will tell you every time that the basic foundation for pursuing consolidation should be taking into consideration what will most benefit the students of each district involved.
"Looking at the academic benefits that accrue to the children of your district has to be the bottom line," Jackson said at a community information meeting hosted by Southern school district Monday night.
About 70 peopleÑincluding administrators, board members and interested residents from Yorkwood, Roseville, Union, Northwest, La Harpe and Southern school districts attended to hear of Jackson's experiences as superintendent of a school that was the result of three school districts in central Illinois being meshed into one in the mid-80s.
Southern is currently involved in a 5-district consolidation study with La Harpe, Northwest, Colchester and Roseville. Southern, Union and Roseville have also indicated some interest in looking at reorganization possibilities, inviting Yorkwood to be included.
He held that post at Prairie Central School District, 35 miles northeast of Bloomington, for nine years after voters from the tiny communities of Fairbury, Forrest and Chatsworth decided that school consolidation would work in the best interest of their students.
"Some school districts were put together in the 1940s and 1950s that served their purpose very well at the time," Jackson said. "But over time and with dwindling student enrollments, they have come to no longer serve that purpose.
The time may be right, he suggested, for smaller district to explore their reorganization and consolidation options.
With the kids as the common denominator, Jackson said other necessary decisionsÑtax rate increases, expanded curriculum offerings, building projects and better extracurricular activitiesÑare not so difficult, as he learned during his time at Prairie Central.
Because a number of teachers opted to take advantage of early retirement incentives, few cuts in staff were experienced, according to Jackson. Improvement in the quality of education was the result when staff stability was realized and the number of teachers teaching outside their major or was reduced.
More advanced math and science classes, as well as vocational classes and technology programs were made available to the larger student body.
But Jackson encouraged the group to think in terms of what their specific goals are.
"What you decide to do in designing your curriculum is your choice to make," he said.
Jackson also addressed transportation concerns.
"There is going to be some bus time," he said, adding that he thought students at Prairie Central school district spend an average of an hour riding the bus.
But Prairie Central is unique, in that it is comprised of three tiny communities with the farthest points being only 11 miles apart and on a straight line. And the district is close to being perfectly square.
"We don't have that luxury," said Denise Wilson, whose son Chris is a freshman at Southern. Yorkwood high school, she pointed out, is 20 miles from Stronghurst, should a consolidation involving those two districts be formed.
Jackson pointed out, as with tax increases and staff size decisions, transportation issues can be worked out.
"Good people come together and tackle issues when they need to," he said.
One bonus for the students at Prairie Central, Jackson said, was that 110 of the 270 students enrolled were able to participate in marching band.
"At one point, we had people who would come to the football games just to see the band and then go home," he said.
Jackson had no hard numbers for dollar amounts should building projects need to be implemented or tax rates increased.
He did say that the three communities involved in Prairie Central chose to increase their tax rates comparatively when it was necessary and that what will be determined to be a sustainable tax rate for a minimum of 8 years should be considered.
Jackson stressed that when communities come together for the common cause of a better education for their students, a sense of fairness prevails.
"Consolidation and reorganization are always difficult issues," he said. "When the Prairie Central school district appeared on the ballot, 80% of the registered voters in those communities came out to vote. And 63.4% voted for the new district.
"People saw the opportunities their students were going to have and they supported it."