With the pool of high school graduates decreasing, national and global competition increasing, and the need to invest in new technologies and approaches growing, many universities and small colleges alike are struggling--not just to thrive, but to survive. In this challenging environment, mergers and consolidations are often viewed as options of…

Discusses the growing trend of small colleges merging with larger ones and details successful behavior in four steps of the merging process: agreeing to agree, investigating, negotiating "at the table," and signing the deal. (EV)

Two aging structures were replaced by Central High School in an Indiana steel town. Planning, board and administrator support, and community involvement eased negative attitudes toward the high school closures and resulted in a $36 million school that has unified the city and will serve it for over 50 years. (MLF)

Considers how the closure and consolidation of schools are seen by cash-strapped boards of education as means to save money. Addresses the same "seven red herrings" or arguments that are repeated loudly and angrily to officials as they go through the process of public consultation. (SG)

A principal whose school was closed draws from her experience 10 ways to make the school closing experience more successful. (JM)

The Margaree Education Coalition and the New Learning Project were formed as a result of a Nova Scotia (Canada) community's fight to keep its local school open in the face of government plans to consolidate schools. It is their belief that stability in public education is accomplished through the accommodation of diverse, community-specific…

Interviews with school board members and administrators produced a list of suggestions for balancing a budget in hard times. Among these are changing calendars and schedules to reduce heating and cooling costs; sharing personnel; rescheduling some extracurricular activities; and forming cooperative agreements with other districts. (MLF)

This book provides information and guidance to rural community members for improving their schools through community involvement. It encourages new ways of thinking about the purposes of education, the roles of schools, and methods of teaching and learning. After establishing the purpose and need for community involvement in rural small schools,…

Justification for school district consolidation is made on the basis of either reducing cost or increasing educational quality. Some cost reduction may be realized through certain economies of scale in some consolidations but it is by no means automatic. The Illinois State Board of Education emphasizes the relationship between high school size and…