320 K-12 LEADERSHIP PRACTICES
members of professional organizations, administrators are drawn into the debate.
Programs of study should include this knowledge base.- Aspiring school administrators should become aware of the oppositional points of
view surrounding school consolidation and the research supporting them. Programs of
study should include this research. - Professors should update and expand their knowledge for instructional practice, as
well as community and legislative consultation and advisement. - Aspiring and practicing administrators need to become aware of strategies, such as
those from the case study, that have proved successful in implementing a school
consolidation. Programs of study should include these strategies. - Practicing administrators who find themselves in the middle of a school consolidation
controversy should be able to receive help from departments of education
administration. Professional development opportunities should be provided for these
administrators.
CONCLUSION
School consolidation is at the center of several state initiatives for school reform and
school funding. As reported by the Rural School and Community Trust (2006) the states of
Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota,
Texas, and West Virginia have active proposals or initiatives to consolidate rural districts
and/or schools. On the other hand, some states have worked to develop policies that support
rural education. Louisiana, after a state examination, concluded that consolidation did not
provide improved schools and left any decision to consolidate with local boards of education.
Oklahoma has proposed a constitutional amendment that would prevent consolidation without
local approval and Wyoming provides preferential funding to rural districts.
Whichever situation rural administrators experience, they clearly need to understand the
nuances of the topic, be conversant with the research surrounding the topic, and have
strategies for approaching the prospect of a consolidation. This paper meets multiple needs.
One purpose has been to provide relevant information and research for practitioners. Another
has been to provide a case study for guidance and reflection. And still another to provide
encouragement and recommendations for administrative programs of study to better prepare
school administrators to meet the challenge of school consolidation.
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Cubberly, E. P. (1914). State and county educational reorganization. New York: Macmillan.
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Heinz, K. (2005). The real and perceived social and economic impact of school consolidation on host
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Ilvento, T.W. (1990). In Luloff, A., Swanson, L. (Eds.) Education and community. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
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