Report: School District Mergers Could Cost Illinois Nearly $4 Billion

Consolidating the state's 800-plus school districts into a more manageable number could cost nearly $4 billion, according to a recent report.

The Classroom First Commission, a panel formed last year to study ways Illinois could increase schools' efficiency and cut costs, found little support for "sweeping consolidation of school districts," the Associated Press reports.

In February, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn told the Illinois General Assembly that merging the state's 868 school districts into just 300 would save about $100 million, primarily through the reduction of the number of administrators.

According to the panel's study, however, Quinn's plan failed to consider the financial incentives that Illinois law promises to merging districts, including additional money for salaries.

The panel considered a hypothetical consolidation smaller than Quinn's proposal,  and found that the mergers could cost the state at least $3.7 billion over four years, according to the report.

The study assumed all of Illinois' individual high school districts and elementary districts would be forced to merge into unit districts—a move that would merge 478 separate districts into just 101.

If mass consolidation were to occur across the state, the structure of public education would dramatically change in many communities, including Lemont, a community with individual high school and elementary districts.

Administrators in both and told Patch that consolidation wouldn't be in the best interest of the community.

A 2010 study conducted by District 210 Superintendent Sandra Doebert found that consolidation of the two Lemont school districts would not be beneficial. She argued that the move would be costly due to state incentives, salary alignment and the potential loss of federal funding to the high school.

Currently, District 210 receives federal funding through the Impact Aid program, which reimburses school districts for property tax money lost to government property. Since 1988, District 210 has received Impact Aid payments for , part of which is located within the high school's boundaries.

Though District 210 currently receives only 5 percent of its eligible funding due to federal spending freezes, , since boundaries would need to be redrawn and the Argonne property would no longer make up 10 percent of district land, as required by law.

In an interview last year, Doebert told Patch she was opposed to any plans for sweeping consolidation of school districts.

"Consolidation is not a bad idea in all cases, but I don't think it can be a blanket move just to save money," she said. "Our state needs to look at the reality of the situation for each and every school and evaluate the potential consequences. As it stands, I think it might be a fiscally unsound decision."

Doebert informed District 210 board members of the Associated Press report during their meeting Monday, saying that the panel's findings "support the consolidation study that's been done previously."

The commission, which is formally named the School District Realignment and Consolidation Commission, is scheduled to issue draft recommendations in April and final recommendations by July 1.

According to the Associated Press, the panel's suggestions could touch on a number of topics, including small-scale consolidation and state construction money for districts that merge. Districts that don't wish to fully consolidate might also be allowed more freedom to share management and split costs.