Three Greene districts ask state to fund consolidation study
Greene County’s eastern school districts have asked the state to fund a study on whether it would be beneficial or feasible to consolidate the three districts into one. The districts sent a letter to state Rep. H. William DeWeese, D-Waynesburg, asking him to fund a feasibility study to look at the needs of the Carmichaels Area, Southeastern Greene and Jefferson-Morgan school districts.
One of the possible suggestions from the study could be consolidation, or it could recommend sharing services or it could determine that the districts are better off how they are, said Jefferson-Morgan Superintendent Donna Furnier.
“We’re looking at a feasibility study, if it could be funded, to pursue whatever options would fit all three districts needs,” Furnier said. “Consolidation being one of many choices, we don’t know. It’s the beginning steps to say is there a need, and there may not be.”
Carmichaels Superintendent Craig Baily said a study could look at everything from staffing to buildings in each of the three school districts.
“There’s so much involved here when you’re talking budgets – student education, facilities, transportation – and we want to do what’s right for our area and that’s the bottom line,” he said. “We want the kids to get the best education.”
Each district’s superintendent signed the letter that requests a meeting with DeWeese, Baily said.
“There’s been talk of this for years,” Baily said. “We’re paying for duplicate services and we might do better with us combining services, which would be less of a burden on taxpayers in the long run.”
The feasibility study also could determine that consolidation is not the best course of action.
“After it’s all said and done, they might say we’re better off the way we are. But how will we know unless we ask?” Baily said.
The decision to seek funding for a feasibility study, however, does not mean the districts will necessarily consolidate. Baily stressed that nothing has been done to formalize the consolidation, while Carmichaels board President Ron Ferek added at the district’s school board meeting last week that the letter does not reflect a determination of any sort. Furnier described the effort as “very preliminary.”
“It is a step to try to make some decisions if anything needs to be done, what steps would be there, and what support would be there,” she said.
The three school boards have not met to discuss the possibility of consolidation, Baily said, and any actual efforts toward consolidation could be “18 months to two years” away.
“There’s a whole processes,” he said. “We are only on the ground floor and there’s been no decision made by any (of the districts’ school boards).”
While this is not the first time consolidating the three districts has been discussed, it is the most direct action by the districts on the topic, Baily said.
“We have to make sure the taxpayers get the best for their buck,” Baily said. “All three districts have situations with buildings that need to be attended to, maybe now it is the time to say what’s advantages of this for the students and the taxpayers.”
The study would provide an unbiased evaluation of all three districts by the state Department of Education, Baily said. It also would follow the lead of Gov. Ed Rendell’s plan to lower the number of school districts across the state.
Baily said Tuesday that the districts had not received word yet from Harrisburg on the proposal. DeWeese’s staff said that they are attempting to set up a meeting in Harrisburg with the superintendents and the Department of Education to discuss the districts’ goals.
The three districts cover about the same amount of territory as Central Greene School District. Currently, Car-michaels serves 1,140 students, Jefferson-Morgan 897 and Southeastern Greene around 800. Central Greene has 2,147 students.