In rural Canada the issue of school closures and consolidations due to low enrollment and heightened fiscal constraints has become a contentious and highly charged issue for citizens and communities. This literature review synthesizes the major effects of school closure on rural communities, identifying economic impacts, social impacts, and…

Arguments for consolidation, which merges schools or districts and centralizes their management, rest primarily on two presumed benefits: (1) fiscal efficiency and (2) higher educational quality. The extent of consolidation varies across states due to their considerable differences in history, geography, population density, and politics. Because…

This Education Policy Brief examines the research regarding the efforts occurring in the United States to consolidate school corporations or form cooperative agreements for shared services. The brief also examines those policy levers which are contributing to the elevated discussion concerning consolidation and shared services in Indiana. Based…

The consolidation of rural schools in the United States has been a controversial topic for policy-makers, school administrators, and rural communities since the 1800s. At issue in the consolidation movement have been concerns of efficiency, economics, student achievement, school size, and community identity. Throughout the history of schooling in…

Discusses consolidation as a method to reduce the costs of rural education. Describes the interrelatedness of the rural economy and rural education. Enumerates advantages and disadvantages of small schools. Suggests that educational reform should focus on the unique circumstances of rural schools. (KS)

Drawn from a larger paper on geographical isolation, these pages present a review of literature pertaining to geographical isolation factors. The inclusion of a geographical isolation factor in a state's distribution formula for foundation aid is a mechanism for providing additional revenue to small schools or school districts that, because of…

This study represents the first attempt to assess the impact of the school consolidation movement on the quality of students' education during the period of greatest consolidation, from 1930 to 1970. Using data from the 1980 U.S. Census, the author looked at one million white males born between 1920 and 1949 to see how characteristics of the…

Examines the court struggle for fiscal adequacy and equity as it is being applied to rural schools and suggests that there are serious implications for financing education in an environment which promises continued complexity and change. The outcome of these struggles is critically important to stakeholders in rural education. (Author/KS)

Compares Australia's and Britains' higher education "binary system," consisting of university and non-university (colleges of advanced education or polytechnics) sectors. Examines problems, politics, and processes involved when institutions attempt to bridge sectors. Reviews examples of cross-sectorial amalgamation in both countries and…

Explores historical and current trends in public education policy to "improve" rural schools by making them more "urban-like" and more responsive to the needs of an economic world market. Describes a rural school district in Texas and predicts negative effects of present state reforms. Presents organizational alternatives for…

The 11 items in this annotated bibliography are entries in the ERIC system concerning the effects of school size. Research studies cited center on existing and recommended sizes for schools; relationships between the size of schools and districts and the costs of education; economies of scale; and the effects of school size on achievement, student…

With the purpose of supplying information on school district reorganization to school districts in Minnesota, this report begins with an overview of reorganization, including a definition of terms, an investigation of the impetus for reorganization, and a discussion of the manner in which school district reorganization legislation is usually…

The author discusses changes in the role and organizational structures of high school and college seminaries which are being brought about by declining enrollments and rising expenses. (SJL)

This paper examines the literature on the impact of school closures on students and communities in the context of four policy issues: school size, cost savings, educational equity, and public support for education. In closure decisions, a major hypothesis affecting school board members is that larger schools can offer a broader curriculum at lower…

This paper presents a preliminary analysis of the comparative costs and benefits of closing small rural schools in South Australia. The cost analysis includes accounting for the use of staff, goods, and services; distance education support; land and buildings; and the opportunity cost of children's bus travel time. The assumption that children's…