The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
By David Grimes, Quill correspondent
MACOMB - Proponents of a proposed four-school district consolidation in west-central Illinois have received kudos, commendations and a vote of support from the state's chief educator.
State Superintendent of Education Robert Schiller, accompanied by an entourage comprised of school superintendents, school board presidents and Committee of 10 members, embarked on a whirlwind tour Wednesday of the four school districts involved, culminating in a press conference at the Macomb Dining Company.
Residents of the Colchester, Roseville, Northwest and LaHarpe school districts will decide the consolidation question on Tuesday, as well as vote on a subsequent $7.9 million building bond.
Consolidation of small, rural school districts is the most fiscally responsible and common sense approach to declining enrollment and deteriorating funds in those districts, according to Schiller.
"The state currently has a $53 billion budget with a deficit of between $2.5 and $3 billion," Schiller said. "We have 544 school districts operating with a deficit of $1.3 billion. Of those districts, 163 are in their fifth year of deficit spending."
Schiller said there are essentially two solutions.
"With revenues not keeping pace with expenditures, the financial situation is grossly out of balance. New taxes are not being advocated," he said.
The alternative is "heavy, heavy cuts coming and sooner than had been previously expected" in school budgets, with the result being cuts in classes and program offerings and student class sizes doubling.
Consolidation, Schiller said, would bring increased benefits in expanded curriculum offerings and social dynamics through the pooling of resources.
The four districts considering consolidation would combine for a high school population of about 500 students, which is the state's recommendation of an ideal high school student body.
Schiller's prediction of what lies in store for districts choosing not to consolidate was stark.
"(They) will be finding themselves in a financial crisis within the next two years," he said. "They'll find themselves needing to revisit this same issue again and again and again."