Across American higher education, institutional consolidations are on the rise. In particular, multiple state systems have proposed or completed mergers of regional universities and/or community colleges with the stated goal of increasing efficiency. Despite the high-profile nature of some recent successful and failed consolidations, there is…

This article explores the factors associated with support for a merger of Ontario's two publicly funded school systems (secular and Catholic). Drawing upon survey data from over 2,000 Ontarians, it investigates the sociodemographic and attitudinal correlates of opinions toward school system reform. We find evidence that both political attitudes…

While it is clear that not all mergers and consolidations are a success story, and some collapse under backlash from students, faculty, and other community members, the University System of Georgia (USG) has completed an astounding number of successful mergers between its institutions. This case study provides an overview of the timeline of the…

Facing a declining K-12 student population and rising education costs, Vermont lawmakers approved Act 46 in 2015. This legislation has the potential to consolidate school districts that have fewer than 900 students. The law aims to significantly reduce the number of districts in the state by using tax incentives as a carrot and forced…

Since 1958, the New York State Education Department has officially promoted the policy of consolidating small, rural schools. This policy is delineated in the Master Plan for School Reorganization, and while the centralization of most one-room rural schools has been successful, the state has been less successful in the consolidation of smaller,…

Over the past decade, multiple states have implemented a form of regional school district consolidation referred to as multi-district unions. Their organizational structure enables districts to retain individual school boards within regional local education agencies, all of which are overseen by a superintendent and a central board. However, no…

Boundary lines have long served as a mechanism to divide people, determining the quality of available resources, and ultimately, educational opportunity. In recent years, new school district boundaries have proliferated as local communities attempt to secede from larger school districts. In this study of Memphis-Shelby County, Tennessee, we extend…

Two separate school districts--a city one and a county one--operated independently in Durham, North Carolina, until the early 1990s. The two districts merged relatively late compared to other North Carolina cities, such as Raleigh and Charlotte. In Durham, residents in both the county and city systems vehemently opposed the merger until the county…

New Brunswick High School, which had been racially integrated for decades, became majority-minority (and soon, all minority) in the 1970s, after years of legal wrangling led hundreds of its students to depart for a new, nearly all-white high school in the adjacent suburb of North Brunswick. White suburbanites invoked "local control" to…

The continued decline of many of America's urban centers has created a myriad of challenges for struggling inner city school systems. As the ills of society drive magnitudes of inner city residents into the suburbs many urban school districts must deal with the challenges of decreasing student enrollment and underused facilities. Many states…

Political pressure to reduce the number of higher education institutions in Wales has been sustained for over a decade by three successive ministers for education, two of whom, Jane Davidson and the current incumbent, Leighton Andrews, have left the Welsh sector in no doubt about the strength of their personal commitment to the policy of…

This case involves dilemmas for educational leaders who may face the process of school consolidation brought on by decreased funding and demands for accountability. We highlight the challenges and opportunities to collaborate within and across diverse communities and schools with varying expressions of cultural, political, ethical, and…

With the advancements of nine years of universal compulsory education, the development of China's basic education has resulted in new demands aimed at improving the overall quality of basic education in rural areas. Closings and consolidation are important measures in this regard. In the process of merging and consolidation, the construction of a…

School consolidation in rural districts has been ongoing since the 1800s. Although many district personnel tout economic inefficiency as a reason for consolidation to occur, micropolitics among school board members, parents, and the business community often drive the consolidation process. This article presents a qualitative case study of Webster…

The practice of public school consolidation has a long history in the United States. School consolidation involves several stakeholders and is tied to a community's identity. Educational leaders are faced with tough dilemmas among responding to student needs, meeting fiduciary responsibilities to constituencies, and addressing adult concerns about…