Date of Award

6-1992

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Educational Leadership

Abstract

The consolidation of public school districts in Michigan has again become an issue with the state legislature with the introduction of Senate Bill 570 of 1989 and Senate Bill 344 of 1991, both of which have proposed a reduction in the number of school districts to a maximum of 200 and a minimum size of 2,000 students per district. The last major legislative initiative in Michigan was from 1960 to 1970 when the number of public school districts was reduced from 2,149 to 638.

The purpose of this study was to develop a model of school district reorganization and then apply the various financial factors against the model in order to determine the financial impact.

The method used for this study was a combination of data collected from a survey instrument, information gathered from Michigan Department of Education publications, and other relevant sources.

Findings of this study were that there would be financial savings in the areas of administrative costs and quantity purchasing; however, there would be substantial costs in the areas of instructional staff salaries, consolidation incentive funding, pupil transportation, and additional classroom space. Findings of this study indicate that school consolidation will not reduce costs as proponents suggest, but would actually increase the cost of operations.

Recommendations for further study would include conducting an in-depth study of a consolidation plan for two regions, one urban and one rural, that would provide specific data on the financial impact of the consolidation of local school districts.

Access Setting

Dissertation-Open Access

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