Probably a stupid question but

I can't help but wonder if Colorado needs 179 school districts. Seems like a lot of money could be saved by consolidating districts. Lots of administration costs could be saved.

And I might as well ask about County Governments. There are 3,143 counties or equiailant in the USA. Would seem that consolidation would save more than a few dollars there too.

The closer the government is to the people the more responsible and responsive it is to the people.

Many times I feel that the Jeffco school district is TOO BIG!

Consolidation is very wrong for the schools.

Looking at consolidation of administration not consolidation of schools.

Opus007 wrote: I can't help but wonder if Colorado needs 179 school districts. Seems like a lot of money could be saved by consolidating districts. Lots of administration costs could be saved.

And I might as well ask about County Governments. There are 3,143 counties or equiailant in the USA. Would seem that consolidation would save more than a few dollars there too.

Agreed. And be thankful this is not Iowa, where the same county can be split in several different school districts, each with their own agenda.

Bean - why is consolidation bad?

There are more than one school district in many counties in Colorado. The strange thing is that the Supreme Court ruled years ago that all students have to recieve the same educational oppurtunity. Why the need for 179 Districts and 179 Administrators and assistants ?

Here is the list. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_Colorado_school_districts

Opus007 wrote: Looking at consolidation of administration not consolidation of schools.

That is worse.

Diversity of our culture is a dynamo for innovation and growth. Our society must retain its different points of view and this cannot be accomplished if we are all indoctrinated into group think. "We are better than you" and "I am better then we" is basic to the progress of our society and it has made us the greatest culture to surface on the face of the planet.

OK, start screaming now. Then consider the "sameness" of the ant hill. No diversity of knowledge or experience. Consider the prairiedog town. Everyone knows what everyone knows and nothing different. Who the hell wants to be a non-entity of the larger community?

Centralized school systems destroy diversity. It has been going on for 70 years and we are experiencing the results with "group think" and low standards. We have lost our leadership position in the world of education. So a continuation of this consolidation trend will not fix the problems resultant of the consolidation trend.

P.S. whenever I was growing up, any position on the school board was NOT a paid position. Now we have professional board members. Geesh!

Lets not approach the problem of the most costly item in the State Of Colorado. If everyone is happy with the educational system, who am I to make waves.

Opus007 wrote: There are more than one school district in many counties in Colorado. The strange thing is that the Supreme Court ruled years ago that all students have to recieve the same educational oppurtunity. Why the need for 179 Districts and 179 Administrators and assistants ?

Here is the list. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_Colorado_school_districts

The problem is, the larger the district, the more levels of administration above the level of the school. That just makes it worse. Yes, some smaller districts might do well to consolidate with neighboring districts but when you get as large as Jeffco, you have too many layers at the top and decisions that may be right for the schools down the hill aren't necessarily right for the schools up here.

We'd do better to get rid of the US Dept of Education - educational decisions should be LOCAL decisions, not mandated from the feds.