Not the right consolidation

Having some form of consolidation for Flathead County’s 23 school districts  isn’t a new idea, but the recent proposal to consolidate the Superintendent of Schools Office with the county treasurer’s office is a hasty move from left field.

Flathead County Commissioners Joe Brenneman and Dale Lauman voted to hold a hearing Jan. 4 to consider eliminating the elected office of Superintendent of  Schools, and transferring the duties of the four-employee office under the county treasurer. The news came as a surprise to the current superintendent, Marcia Sheffels, and to Treasurer Adele Krantz, among others,  who rightly wonder what’s the rush, and question just what the benefits would be.

Brenneman and Lauman say the proposal is driven by an ongoing effort to save taxpayer money, and the Jan. 4 hearing is necessary because a decision must be made at least seven days before the Jan. 14 filing opener for next  year’s elections.

Well, it doesn’t appear there are big savings to be had by eliminating the superintendent’s office, which accounts for less than 1 percent of the county’s overall expenditures. And we’d have to question the wisdom of transferring school management duties to the treasurer, when Krantz plainly states that she and her staff aren’t qualified for that responsibility. So, it’s likely that those duties would have to be taken on by an appointed manager.

And that sort of undermines both the likelihood of saving money and the fundamental principle of having an elected official in charge of county schools.

Let’s hope this diversion does not distract from the ongoing quest to promote school consolidation statewide.

More than a few candidates for local elected offices have made the case that the county should not have 23 separate school districts. They’ve argued that administrative costs along with contracting for services and supplies would be more efficient with fewer districts. We agree.

A proposal in that direction would be well worth considering, but the one that’s been offered up seems to have more down sides than benefits.