Big Idea: Less is More

Gov. Rendell’s budget was mostly ho-hum—a little more here, a little less there. The exception was a very bold proposal to eliminate 80% of Pennsylvania’s school districts (500 to 100). That proposal (summary here) got lots of reaction (list here). The insider view is that forced merger proposals are dead on their arrival at the state legislature. The last round of district consolidations (in the 1970s) cost many legislators their jobs.

But is consolidation a good idea? The Pittsburgh Schooler only observes that consolidation is not about improving quality. There’s nothing wrong with getting more efficient, and there’s no doubt that consolidation will create some opportunities for financial efficiencies. But at what cost? Would turmoil surrounding consolidation drown out desperately needed discourse on quality?