In December 2009, a rapid-growth school district on the Texas Gulf Coast shifted its paradigm of rezoning. Even though half of the Katy Independent School District (Katy ISD) was affected, it achieved a genuine ownership for boundary changes that would affect more than 11,500 students at five schools. Katy ISD accomplished this by seeking…

For the last five years, the lives of New York City (NYC) public school educators have been governed by constant change. With certainty, every January or June heralded something new--restructured departments and offices, staff changes and new initiatives. One of the most interesting chapters in the history of the NYC school system unfolded in the…

Several New England states have been rethinking the system whereby small towns make the key decisions about school budgets and staffing under the banner of local control. Maine already has mandated a reduction in the number of local school districts from 290 to 80, allowing localities to vote on the larger districts. This consolidation, unpopular…

School district consolidation is a striking phenomenon. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 117,108 school districts provided elementary and secondary education in 1939-1940. By 2006-2007, the number of districts had dropped to 13,862, a decline of 88 percent. The rate of consolidation has slowed in recent years, but at…

Joan Raymond was just six months into a well-earned retirement following 20 demanding years in the superintendency of some of the hottest kitchens in the nation. But when some longtime friends told her about an opening in South Bend, Indiana, Raymond could not ignore the itch to give it one more whirl. Raymond found the school system in far more…

Beset with rising costs and inequity problems, Greensboro City, High Point City, and Guilford County districts merged to become North Carolina's third largest district, with 59,000 students. Although the superintendent had to downsize staff, eliminate special-interest programs, and refashion summer school, the merger yielded wider community…

School systems are driven to redraw boundaries by population growth and changing geographic distribution of the student population. To make a safe passage, administrators must plan the crossing, prepare a comprehensive road map, and carry the community along. Goals statements should specify educational objectives as well as school loading, fiscal,…

On the surface, Michael Moher's major challenges as a superintendent do not seem so foreign from any other leader who is responsible for the education of 28,000 students. He has been grappling in recent years with budget shortfalls, school closings, a couple of dissident board members and even a week-long teacher's strike. Moher runs a Catholic…

Describes how the Cincinnati (Ohio) Public Schools reorganized to achieve a 50% reduction of central-office jobs. Downsizing aims to reduce the organization's size and create a new organizational culture that is more efficient, leaner, and more responsive. Superintendents must set institutional goals, create a new organizational chart, decide who…

Merger battles in rural communities often have more to do with sports, school colors, traditional rivalries, and socioeconomic differences than student transportation difficulties. Cooperation most commonly exists in special education, vocational education, and purchasing. Stretching resources among districts can boost interscholastic athletics…

Professional educators may be behind the times in their thinking about school size. Many educational leaders mistakenly believe that large schools provide better learning environments at less cost than smaller schools. Actually, there are few conclusive before-and-after consolidation studies, consolidation does not seem to save money, and small…

Concluding that the Jersey City Public Schools were educationally bankrupt and in total disarray, the New Jersey State Department of Education took over the district in October 1989 and completely reorganized its central office by reassigning, demoting, or terminating 117 administrators. The newly decentralized system features four school clusters…

Consolidations come in all shapes and sizes, including mergers, annexations and dissolutions. They do not all take place under state mandate, however. A handful of districts consolidate every year in some states like Illinois that have large numbers of small districts, many of them dual districts that serve K-8 or 9-12 in the same geographic area.…

Dual superintendency is a popular tack in rural America for the preservation of proud communities. The job is not for someone who wants to coast. There are two budgets to develop and monitor, two school boards, two sets of priorities. Keeping everyone in two school districts satisfied is more than a full-time occupation. Other school communities…

Recounts difficulties experienced by an Ohio principal who chaired his district's contentious boundary-realignment process. The community was divided over dispersal of heavily concentrated low-income students to other schools within the district. In hindsight, this principal would have had someone take minutes, selected a more diverse committee,…