Ohio School Boards Association



Ohio School Boards Association

8050 North High Street, Suite 100

Columbus, OH 43235-6481

(614) 540-4000 • fax (614) 540-4100



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: March 24, 2011

for more information, contact:

Damon Asbury, director of

legislative services

(614) 540-4000

dasbury@

Study shows that school consolidation may raise costs

COLUMBUS — The Ohio School Boards Association has released a study that reports that school consolidation may increase the costs of educating students. The study’s authors found that while small districts, on average, spend more on administrative costs per pupil, total expenditures per pupil are actually less than those of larger districts.

“There is a misperception around the state and nation,” said OSBA President Cathy Johnson, a South-Western City school board member, “that larger school districts produce higher academic achievement at lower costs. This idea is not the case.”

The study notes that academic performance in small districts is equal to or better than in larger districts. The report concludes that sharing services among districts offers a more promising approach to achieving cost savings than district consolidation. It also would preserve school districts’ sense of community identity that consolidation would diminish.

This study is being shared with policymakers and stakeholders to show the true picture of school consolidation. To download the study, visit and click on the “school consolidation study” link.

OSBA leads the way to educational excellence by serving Ohio’s public school board members and the diverse districts they represent through superior service and creative solutions.

— 30 —

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download