Citing declining enrollments and slashed budgets amid state government’s financial crisis, several central Illinois school districts are considering consolidating.
“We are looking at all options that could possibly happen. There’s no one particular combination,” said Matthew Brue, superintendent of the Petersburg-based PORTA School District.
A feasibility study examining a possible merger of the PORTA and A-C Central school districts is planned, as is a study examining a potential Menard County school district that could encompass Athens, Greenview and PORTA, according to Brue.
The Virginia and A-C Central school boards also have sought a merger feasibility study.
Studies under way
Brue said the Menard County study is expected to be completed in July. Completion dates haven’t been set for the A-C Central-PORTA review or the A-C Central-Virginia study.
PORTA, with enrollment of 1,170, has seen a decline of 29 to 30 students each year for the last 10 years, Brue said.
“When we start losing students, we start losing programs,” he noted.
The PORTA board expects Tuesday to vote to eliminate pre-kindergarten, truancy and reading-improvement programs for the 2010-11 school year and lay off six teachers and eight classroom aides, Brue said.
Lynn Carter, superintendent of Virginia schools, said concerns over finances and declining enrollment similarly prompted the Virginia Board of Education to renew consolidation talks with A-C Central.
“We can offer more and better programs with more students,” she said.
While a referendum to merge Virginia and A-C Central failed in 2005, residents and students in both districts seem amenable to another look, according to Carter and A-C Central School Superintendent Becky Canty.
“I think there is interest. We already co-op sports,” Canty said.
Illinois has 875 school districts. Smaller, rural districts have combined over the years, and continue to do so. They’re under even more pressure this year due to millions of dollars in delayed state aid payments.
In the Springfield area, a merger of the Virden and Girard school districts will become formal in July. The two districts will become the North Mac School District.
Proponents of consolidation say it improves curriculum offerings by allowing districts to pool resources.
But residents also worry about the impact mergers have on their communities.
“Small, rural districts really want to keep their identity for as long as they can, but it does not hurt to conduct feasibility studies,” said Jean Anderson, regional superintendent of schools for Logan, Mason and Menard counties.
Can do nothing
Feasibility studies typically examine a variety of issues, including districts’ curriculums, numbers of employees, extracurricular activities, building needs and finances.
Such reviews, Anderson said, “always leave open the option of not doing anything.”
However, she said, “If the current budget crisis becomes more and more dire, more and more school districts will look at other options, including reorganizing and consolidating.”
Debra Landis can be reached through the metro desk at 788-1517.
Districts considering consolidation
– A-C CENTRAL: Referendum in 1989 combined the Ashland and Chandlerville schools. Elementary school in Chandlerville, junior and senior highs in Ashland.
– ATHENS: Schools in Athens and Cantrall. Cantrall Elementary houses pre-kindergarten through third grade, and Cantrall Intermediate grades houses fourth through sixth grades. Junior/senior high school in Athens.
– GREENVIEW: Elementary, junior and senior high schools all on one campus.
– PORTA: An elementary school in Petersburg and an elementary school in Tallula; middle, junior high and high schools in Petersburg. PORTA name comes the communities the district serves: Petersburg, Oakford, Rock Creek, Tallula and Atterberry.
– VIRGINIA: Elementary, junior and senior high schools all on one campus.
Read the original article from The State Journal-Register.
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