Commentary; Posted: 4/5/06
Is smaller better for state school districts?
By Don Heinzman
Suburban school districts are regional in scope and some involve up to 13 communities. When originally formed they were among some of the smaller districts in Minnesota.
As growth has evolved, these consolidated rural school districts have become among the biggest in Minnesota.
Anoka-Hennepin District 11, first in enrollment in Minnesota, involves all or parts of 13 cities and has 41,500 students, making it the biggest school system in Minnesota.
St. Paul is second and Minneapolis is third, Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan is fourth and Osseo is fifth. Seven of the top 10 districts according to enrollment are in the suburban area.
Bloomington, Richfield, Minneapolis and St. Paul schools have the same boundaries as city boundaries.
Rep. Mark Buesgens of Jordan, chair of the House Education Policy and Reform Committee, maintains there should be a process to allow people to vote to reduce the size of the larger districts.
He says there is a legal process for schools to cooperate, to consolidate and even to detach land from one district and attach it to another.
Buesgensí bill would have residents petition the school board to have an election to separate a district into one or more districts. The school board would vote the question of having an election up or down.
The House Education Committee heard a bill that would have allowed School District 728 residents in the Elk River area to vote on whether the district should be divided at the Mississippi River.
This would make up a district of Otsego and Rogers part of Dayton and Hassan Township, on the south and Elk River, Zimmerman, Ramsey, Livonia Township and parts of Nowthen and Big Lake townships to the north.
Proponents, mostly from Rogers, contend the district should be split so facilities and curriculum can be controlled closer to home.
The Minnesota Education Committee voted down the measure, saying the local school board should decide that issue and that splitting could result in greater disparity of assets.
Furthermore, the committee said having a law that would enable one district to vote on splitting would open the door for other districts to make the same request.
While the measure was tabled, the House committee decided to continue talking about the issue.
The trend in Minnesota has been consolidation of schools and not since 1960 has there been a case of a school districts splitting up.
Basic to the argument for having smaller school districts is that smaller school districts produce better educated students than larger ones.
Data does show that smaller high schools in Minnesota have fewer students taking remedial classes in English and mathematics before acceptance in the Minnesota colleges and universities.
Those who argue for bigger districts say they give students more opportunities and have more resources. They argue whatís more important than size of districts is the classroom size.
Buesgens, who is an educator, says smaller districts are better because people get to know one another and particularly members of their local school board.
Growing cities, he contends, ought to be able to have school districts with the same boundaries to enhance community identity.
The basic question comes down to whether changing the size of a school district will result in a better education for the students.
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