New Report Calls Arkansas Consolidation Debate 'Wasteful'; 'Get to the Things That Matter,' Urges Rural School Advocacy Group 8/6/2003
From: Kathy Westra, 202-955-7177; Marty Strange, 802-728-4383; both of the Rural School and Community Trust WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 -- Small school districts in Arkansas accomplish more with less money in more difficult circumstances than do large districts, according to a new report released today by the Rural School and Community Trust (Rural Trust), a nonprofit advocacy group for rural schools. The report found that small districts have a higher proportion of students in poverty and a much smaller property tax base, and spend less per student than large districts. Despite their high poverty and low wealth, however, these small districts have a smaller percentage of students who score below the basic achievement level on the state's academic tests and they graduate a higher percentage of students than do the large districts. The report's conclusion: Arkansas is wasting time on the consolidation debate, and should focus instead on the problems that matter most to the state's schoolchildren: poverty, the persistent effects of racial discrimination, and a school funding system whose inequities and inadequacies exacerbate those problems. The report, School District Consolidation in Arkansas, analyzes financial and academic data of all Arkansas districts and evaluates approaches to consolidation based on district size, high per-pupil spending, and below-average academic performance. "Whichever way you look at it, consolidation is a bad idea for Arkansas," says Marty Strange, policy program director for the Rural Trust. "Consolidation based on academic performance will disproportionately affect poor and African American communities, especially in the Delta region. These are precisely the communities that scientific research shows get the best academic performance from small schools." "The shortest and best pathway to school improvement in Arkansas is to improve small schools operating in small districts in the poorest communities in the state," says Strange. "The biggest challenge is to get past the debate over school consolidation and get to the things that matter." Many of the study's key findings contradict current assumptions about consolidation. Among those findings: -- Nearly two-thirds of small districts spend less per student than the state average. -- Large districts are more likely than small districts to be academically low performing. -- Both small and large districts that spend above the state average per pupil serve a student population that is more at risk of academic failure than do other districts. -- More students -- both in number and proportion -- attend large districts that either spend above the state average or perform academically below the state average than attend small districts that are high spending or low performing. -- These results are essentially the same whether a "small" district is defined as one with fewer than 1,500 students or one with fewer than 700 students. ------ Note to editors: Go to http://www.ruraledu.org/docs/arkansas/arkcons.pdf to download the full text of the report in PDF format, or call Garfield Gardner at 202-955-7177 to receive the full report by FAX. The Rural School and Community Trust (Rural Trust) is a national nonprofit organization addressing the crucial relationship between good schools and thriving rural communities. Working in some of the poorest, most challenging rural places, the Rural Trust advocates for appropriate state educational policies, and addresses the critical issue of funding for rural schools. |