Ohio Districts Targeted for Consolidation by Report


Last Updated: February 25, 2010
 

This article appeared in the February 2010 Rural Policy Matters.

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A recent report has recommended consolidation for at least 200 of the state’s school districts. Previous task forces and other groups have studied the issue in Ohio without resolution.

The Brookings Institute partnered with the Greater Ohio Policy Center to release the study, and has collaborated in four previous such studies in other states. In two of those states, Maine and Pennsylvania, major consolidation initiatives have been undertaken.

Currently, neither the Ohio Department of Education not the State Board of Education can force districts to merge under current law. The study recommends that school districts enter shared services agreements. It also recommends the creation of a commission to mandate best practices in administration and a reduction in the number of Ohio school districts by at least one-third.

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