Published: September 05, 2008 03:12 pm            

A map to school mergers | Monaca, Center Area on historic pathway

The consolidation of two western Pennsylvania school districts is both noteworthy and historic.

At the conclusion of the school year, the Monaca and Center Area districts will undergo a voluntary merger.

Officials in the districts pointed to declining enrollment and rising costs – factors facing virtually every school in our region – in announcing their decision. They expect the merger to improve educational programs, eliminate duplicated services and save about $1.5 million per year.

This will be the first schools merger in the state in 20 years, and will reduce the number of districts by one, to 500.

More importantly, this will be the first voluntary merger of school districts ever in Pennsylvania.

“These conversations are going to be inevitable,” Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak of Johnstown told The Associated Press. “School districts are realizing that the cost of doing business won’t get any cheaper.”

During each budget cycle, the state government pledges to do more to help educate the young people of Pennsylvania. Yet, there is no pot of money waiting to be spent on new schools, new computers, new textbooks and the like.

Likewise, many school districts are located in regions where the population is dropping and residents can’t afford to keep shouldering a greater tax burden year after year.

Something has to give.

That something may be pride and parochial control.

In July 2007, we told you about a state study that said school mergers could save millions of dollars for taxpayers and districts.

The study offered possible mergers across the Cambria-Somerset region that could provide a combined annual savings of as much as $4 million.

But, the study noted, school consolidation is a subject few officials at any level are willing to support because it is unpopular and therefore politically problematic.

Consolidation is not the right course for every district. Some districts are already finding savings in sharing programs. Others will stay strong as they remain independent.

But for some, merging would be the right option.

“Nobody wants to give up their school, or even their football team,” state Rep. Tom Yewcic, D-Jackson Township, said last summer.

“The cons would be losing local control, and in some cases some community identity,” added Joseph Kimmel, superintendent of the Chestnut Ridge School District. “Schools are more than just bricks and mortar.”

So true. We hold dear the times spent in our schools, lessons learned and successes experienced. We wear our school colors with pride.

That is why we applaud Monaca and Center Area for taking the bold step and voting to consolidate.

In all likelihood, some of the school board members and district officials were essentially voting to eliminate their own positions with the merger – but voted in the best interest of those whom they represent.

“There are a lot of traditions tied to schools, and dealing with that is difficult,” Monaca superintendent Michael Thomas said. “There has never been a voluntary merger in Pennsylvania. There is no blueprint for us to follow.”

But now there will be a map to help the next districts who follow this path to navigate their way.

And we hope local school districts will have serious talks – internally and with their neighbors – about joining forces for the good of the students and the taxpayers.

        

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