Small School Districts In Illinois

In the state of Illinois, there is a high number of very small school districts. The number of school districts in Illinois is unnecessary. If the small school districts consolidate, there would be benefits; such as a more flexible budget and more learning opportunities for students (both in academics and extracurriculars). Along with these benefits there would also be some losses. Duplicates would be not necessary and some believe that personal connection between students and teachers would be lost. However, some losses might need to be taken for the betterment of students.
In Illinois there are 859 school districts. Thirty-four percent of these school have 599 or less students. Forty-five percent of schools have 600-2499 students. Research …show more content…
Illinois, as stated previously, has 859 school districts. In 1942, Illinois had more than 12,000 districts. By 1955, the state had cut the number of districts to 2,242. By 2000, they cut it even more to 849. These pushes of school district consolidation have been huge in the past, but still not enough. Compared to 1942, the amount of districts Illinois has is significantly smaller, but if compared to the amount of school districts in Florida (42), Illinois has a huge number of districts. Forty-five percent are elementary units. Twelve percent are high school districts. The other forty-five percent are unit districts, that serve both grade school and high school. Twenty-five percent of Illinois districts serve just one school. This means that there is one superintendent, secretaries, human resources, special education, janitorial staff, a technology staff, and a principal just for one school. Many jobs, such as special education and human resources, can be used among many buildings. So it is a waste of money to hire a person that can do a bigger job more effectively for more than one school, just for one school. Also, having so many districts affect the use of the taxpayer’s money. The school districts take two-thirds of the $27 billion in local property taxes collected. If school districts consolidate, this money could be used more for the community, or even by the schools for extra …show more content…
Smaller communities are concerned about the potential cost created by consolidated districts, having to divide or recentralize economy, and the break up of faculty and student relationships. When consolidating districts there may be a need to build a new school to fit all the students to create a unity. The cost of a new building would be quite a sum when first built. After years, the benefits of being consolidated would hopefully cover these costs. Communities do not want to have to divide revenue created by having a school in their town with another town. A direct example of this would be if the school district had open campus lunch. Small businesses get students to buy products daily. If the school consolidated, and there was no secondary students, this would affect the small businesses’ revenue. It would be a total economic shift if the whole district moved to a different town. Parents also like the relationships built between students and teachers in small schools. Since there is more of a bond created between teacher and student, the student may receive individual instruction. Whereas in a larger school it may be harder for this connection to occur. Without this interaction of personalized instruction students and parents may get frustrated and feel alienated. There is believed to be a larger student participation in activities, academically or extracurricular. Since there is a small number of students