School district reorganization at a glance

              SCHOOL DISTRICT
REORGANIZATION
School district reorganization has been around
since 1899, with the first consolidation petition
in 1903. Although different needs have driven
reorganization in the past, the critical areas of
concern today are the educational opportunities
reorganization provides students and the fiscal
viability of school districts to provide the
highest quality educational opportunities.
In addition to the basic financial motivations for
reorganization, research demonstrates that for
high school students, school size can make a
difference in both achievement and in the
number of course offerings available to
students.
From FY 1984 to FY 2005, the number of
individual school districts has decreased from
1,008 to 882, a reduction of more than 12
percent.
Reorganizations that took effect
FY1984 through FY2005
51%
Dissolution/
Annexation
Other
11%
38%
Consolidation
TYPES OF REORGANIZATIONS:
Consolidation is the merger of two or more
existing districts to create a new district and
requires:
⇒ Petition filed by voter signatures or school
boards
⇒ Local public hearing conducted by
Regional Superintendent
⇒ Approval by State Superintendent
⇒ Successful referendum
Annexation is the incorporation of a portion or
all of one school district into another school
district and requires:
⇒ Petition filed by voter signatures or school
boards
⇒ Local public hearing conducted by
Regional Board of School Trustees
⇒ Regional Board of School Trustees
approval
⇒ Successful referendum (for annexation of
entire district)
School District Conversion is the formation of a
single new high school district and new
elementary districts based upon the boundaries
of dissolved unit districts and requires:
⇒ Petition filed by voter signatures or school
boards
⇒ Local public hearing conducted by
Regional Superintendent
⇒ Approval by State Superintendent
⇒ Successful referendum
Deactivation is the deactivation of a district’s
elementary attendance center or high school
attendance center and the sending of students in
grades Kindergarten through 8 or 9 through 12
to one or more other districts once all districts
agree and requires:
⇒ Board resolution to deactivate
⇒ Successful referendum
⇒ Tuition agreement by the affected districts
Cooperative High School is the establishment of
a jointly operated high school by two or more
contiguous unit or high school districts, each
with an enrollment of less than 600 students in
grades 9 through 12, while retaining the affected
districts’ school boards and requires:
⇒ Board resolution by all boards affected
⇒ Successful referendum
⇒ Cooperative agreement by the affected
districts
STATE FINANCIAL INCENTIVES:
A major initiative for school district
reorganization began when the General
Assembly established financial incentives for
newly consolidated districts. Since that time,
these same incentives have been authorized for
other types of reorganizations. Except for
deactivation and cooperative high school
formation, all other types of reorganization may
qualify for these incentives.
STATE AID DIFFERENCE:
If the general state aid is less for the newly
reorganized district in the first year than the
general state aid would have been that same
year on the basis of the previously existing
districts, the state will make supplementary state
aid payments equal to the difference for the first
four years to the reorganized district.
TEACHER SALARY DIFFERENCE:
If there is a difference between the sum of the
salaries earned during the previous year by
teachers of the new district and the sum of the
salaries those teachers would have been paid if
placed on the salary schedule of the previously
existing district using the highest salary
schedule, the state will make supplementary
state aid payments equal to the difference for
the first four years to the reorganized district.
DEFICIT DIFFERENCE:
Deficits are calculated by totaling the audited
fund balances in the Educational Fund, the
Operations and Maintenance Fund, the
Transportation Fund, and the Working Cash
Fund for each previously existing district. The
state will make a single supplemental state aid
payment to the reorganized district equal to the
difference between the largest and smallest
deficit. A district with a positive fund balance
will be considered to have a deficit of zero.
$4,000 per CERTIFIED EMPLOYEE:
For one, two, or three years, a reorganized
district may receive a supplementary state aid
payment equal to $4,000 for each certified
employee who is employed by the district on a
full-time basis for the school year.
Reorganization Incentives
FY 1986 - FY 2005
($ in millions)
$6.7
$18.3
$68.0
$28.7
State Aid
Difference
Teacher
Salary
Difference
Deficit
Difference
$4,000 per
Certified
Employee
The state has paid over $120 million for
financial incentives for school district
reorganizations.