Before New Harmony Town and Township Schools shut their doors nearly five years ago, the corporation had been struggling with declining admission numbers and a reduction in state funds.
District leaders at the time said there were not many options left, as student count dropped to 137 and state funding fell to under $1 million.
After years of emphasizing their commitment to remain independent, the district chose to consolidate under the Metropolitan School District of North Posey County. Few other schools have chosen to consolidate or reorganize, despite efforts over the years from state officials such as former Gov. Mitch Daniels to emphasize the economic perks.
This legislative session, lawmakers are proposing a one-time $500-per-pupil incentive if schools choose to consolidate. The provision is in the budget passed by the Indiana House and the chamber added the provision to a separate Senate bill dedicated to clearing up how districts with debt can consolidate.
The Senate has yet to vote on the incentive portion of the bill, and had cut it from the budget when the House tried implementing similar language last year, so they could still strip that language. Bill author Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Centerville, said he has not decided on whether to approve the incentive amendment.
While representatives from the Indiana School Boards Association and the Indiana Small and Rural Schools Association did not say they were against the bill as a “may” provision, they both questioned how much of a cost savings consolidation really has.
Scott Turney, the executive director of Indiana Small and Rural Schools Association, said each year it feels like small schools get pushed to focus on consolidation efforts.
“When you look at the total budget of the school district or of two districts, what the cost savings would be there, it’s pretty insignificant,” Turney said. “There’s probably some other things out there that lawmakers could have spent more energy on than this conversation that comes up every year.”
During committee hearings, Raatz made sure to emphasize that his bill does not force schools to consolidate, and acknowledged the negative rap school consolidation legislation often gets.
“I hate to use the word consolidation,” he said. “That seems like almost a cuss word.”
But he and other lawmakers said there are benefits to smaller schools consolidating. In 2008, Daniels wanted to require schools with under 1,000 students to combine administrative functions. His proposal didn’t gain steam, but the concept of consolidation is still alive.
According to a policy brief from Michael Hicks, a Ball State University economist, consolidating districts with fewer than 2,000 people helps avoid redundant costs.
House Ways and Means committee chairman Tim Brown, R-Crawfordsville, sees it as way to keep funding up in a system where money follows the individual students.
In recent years, smaller and rural school districts have been hit the hardest by declining revenue from the state, Turney said. As Indiana has moved towards a pay-per-pupil model, districts losing students also lose money and aren’t given time to adjust.
In rural districts, that exodus of students has often been more noticeable. Even after acquiring the New Harmony schools, North Posey is still just below the enrollment numbers the district had in 2006. Posey County’s other remaining district, the Metropolitan School District of Mount Vernon, has lost more than 500 students in the last 10 years.
In another local county, East Gibson School Corporation has lost 13 percent of its students in the last 10 years.
“I know there are school districts out there that are losing size naturally and of course that puts a burden on the cash flow and so it’s simply something for school districts to take a look at,” Raatz said. “If they decide it’s a wise thing to do and can get their constituents to agree, then they can consolidate.”
Reorganizing is not a move many have made in the state. Raatz could not think of any specific examples of districts that have already reorganized, but mentioned two school corporations that are casually considering the option. Turney could only think of one other district aside from New Harmony that recently consolidated, and that was in Parke County, north of Terre Haute.
School Superintendent Thomas Rohr said there were some challenges, like having to determine teacher contracts and re figuring lists of seniority. Still, he said it was the right move because of the sharp decline in funds.
“For us it was a very positive step,” Rohr said. “All the way around it seems like it’s worked out well for us. We had very little opposition in our county.”