Educational autonomy

To those who love their small, rural schools, “consolidation” might be the dirtiest word in the English language.

Some people acknowledge there could be some advantages to combining districts, whether that means consolidating with another rural district or becoming part of a larger district such as Kalispell Public Schools. Proponents say consolidation would save money and allow small schools to pool their resources, which could give students more educational and extracurricular opportunities.

But others say the supposed savings are overblown, and that consolidation might do more harm than good to students and communities.

“I’m not saying consolidation is a bad thing, but I’d need to see ... many more positives than a money-related positive to believe in our situation, it would be better,” said Renee Boisseau, principal of Kila School.

It’s a controversial idea with no easy solution. It may be on educators’ minds more often than it has been in recent years, after Flathead County Commissioners considered a different sort of consolidation earlier this month.

Commissioner Joe Brenneman estimated that consolidating the County Superintendent of Schools Office with the County Treasurer’s Office could save $570,000 over four years. But the proposal was voted down Jan. 4 after scores of people voiced their objection to the plan.

Some have suggested considering consolidating school districts instead. There are 23 public school districts in Flathead County, more than any other county in Montana. Eight of those are corresponding elementary and high school districts: Bigfork, Columbia Falls, Kalispell and Whitefish.

The rest are independent elementary districts, ranging in size from Pleasant Valley’s 11 students and a one-room schoolhouse to Evergreen’s 750 kids in an elementary and a junior high. After eighth grade — or after sixth grade in Creston — these district’s students attend one of the county’s four high school districts. Thirteen independent elementaries send the bulk of their students to a Kalispell high school.

But being an independently operating “feeder school” is very different from being part of the Kalispell school system, and for the most part, the Flathead’s independent elementary schools are fiercely protective of their sovereignty.

“Autonomy of these districts is really a big thing,” said Todd Fiske, superintendent of the West Valley School District. “The community wants to know, this is our school. It’s important to have a community school.”

“We didn’t move out here to be part of Kalispell,” he added, speaking not necessarily for himself but of the rural community mindset. “We moved out here to be part of West Valley — or Cayuse Prairie, or wherever.”

Fiske said the district has discussed, at least in passing, the option of consolidation, but that it isn’t being considered right now. At districts where enrollments are shrinking, however, consolidation may one day be considered to boost dwindling budgets.

The Columbia Falls School District, which is facing a $500,000 shortfall in its 2010-11 budget, could benefit from additional funds if it were to pick up students from the adjoining West Glacier and Deer Park districts.

Deer Park and West Glacier are not interested in consolidation, but Columbia Falls Superintendent Michael Nicosia said tight budgets might force school officials and even Legislators to consider it in the future.

“The way I see school funding unfolding over the next four years, I would like the powers that be to look at any way to maintain the opportunities we now have for children,” he said. “Anything that we can do, whether it’s consolidation or whatever — I’ll work with anybody to help solve a pretty bleak situation.”

Jay Hurder, who is in his first year as principal of Marion School, said consolidation might help his students and staff.

“From a small rural school such as we are, we are going to continue to have year by year severe monetary difficulties,” he said. “We will have to do the same or much more every year with the same or less amount of money. We cannot be unique in that situation.”

Hurder suggested Marion might benefit if it consolidated with Kila. He emphasized that his opinion on consolidation was his own, and was not representative of the district or the school board.

“I have never believed that sometimes it is not beneficial to combine resources, especially us and Kila. We’re really not geographically that far apart,” he said.

By joining forces with a school only 12 miles away, Marion and Kila could offer their students more opportunities, including possibly a stronger fine arts program and more extracurricular activities, Hurder said. The schools could utilize their staff better and have more budget authority.

But some say consolidating schools would prove more expensive in the long run. If a district was large enough after consolidation, state accreditation standards might require the district to hire additional administrators. If a large district absorbed small rural districts, it would likely spend a significant amount of money raising rural staff salaries.

Somers Superintendent Teri Wing worked in the Missoula superintendent’s office when that district absorbed most of the surrounding independent elementary districts. School officials and board members thought they would save money by eliminating administrators, but any savings were swallowed up in eliminating staff salary inequities, Wing said.

“It was a huge financial mistake,” she said, adding that the district spent $1 million every year for several years trying to get the rural teachers’ salaries on par with what the Missoula teachers made.

If Somers were to become part of the Kalispell district, the principals at Somers Middle School and Lakeside Elementary would each get a $10,000 raise, she said.

Joel Voytoski, superintendent of the Evergreen school district, agreed that consolidation without closing schools would be expensive.

“In reality, if you’re looking at trying to save money, then you have to be in a position to close buildings,” he said.

That’s a scenario he doesn’t see happening. Most schools in the valley are operating at or near capacity and don’t have room to add scores of students.

And a district could get too large to handle. Nicosia said he doesn’t advocate creating a countywide school system, which would include an elementary district of about 9,000 students and a high school district with about 4,200 students.

That might be too large, Nicosia said.

“There is an ideal size for a school district. I’m not necessarily sure what that is,” he said. “But the larger a district gets, the less responsive it probably could be.”

That’s a common reason rural schools oppose consolidation with a large district like Kalispell, Wing said.

“A lot of people in the rural schools say, ‘If that happens, are we kind of the ugly stepchildren? Are we going to have a voice and have our needs taken into consideration?’” she said.

That goes for school board trustees as well as school personnel, Smith Valley Principal Mike Welling said. In his district, he said, parents and community members feel comfortable calling a school board member to discuss school issues.

“They can call a neighbor who’s on the school board and get an answer, or at least let them know what’s going on from their perspective,” Welling said.

“I live in [Kalispell] District 5, and I would never consider calling a board member. Because of the size, they’re more removed from the day-to-day kinds of issues at the school.”

Kalispell school board members are often in the schools, visiting classrooms or attending student events, Superintendent Darlene Schottle said. But with 11 schools in the district, trustees can’t be as visible a presence in the schools as board members in a smaller district can.

“If there’s more people and more spaces and schools to cover, you don’t have the same interaction as you do at one-school districts,” Schottle said.

Community involvement — and, conversely, students’ involvement in the community — has to be considered when discussing consolidation, Boisseau said. Each independent elementary district in the Flathead has its own unique personality.

“We are so distinct in each of our communities. Our community population is not the same as Smith Valley’s or Marion’s,” she said. “There is a lot of ownership in that climate, ownership that goes with that school.”

Ownership is important, she added, because teachers in every school are trying to create a sense of belonging among students.

“We’re really trying to connect kids to school, to build relationships with them,” she said. “If we consolidate into larger groups, some of that ownership or connection to the community will go away a little bit.”

Boisseau said there is one consolidation option that might benefit her students.

“It probably would be a great idea if we could consolidate a middle school between Marion, Smith Valley, Kila and maybe West Valley,” she said.

Increased opportunities for middle school students is a common argument in favor of consolidating independent elementaries. Small rural schools tend to have limited amenities that are taken for granted in larger districts, such as science labs, large libraries and several elective options.

But Dennis Haverlandt, principal of Deer Park Elementary, said there can be a benefit to keeping middle school students at rural schools.

“I would say there is a greater focus on educational basics at a school like this,” he said. “Students at our school have always achieved proficiency [on standardized tests], compared to large schools in the area, as well as the state.”

Students from the rural schools are well-prepared by the time they enter Flathead or Glacier high school, Schottle said. She credits their teachers and the Northwest Montana Curriculum Cooperative with the students’ success.

The curriculum co-op has helped the rural schools align their studies a little more closely with Kalispell’s, which helps make the transition from elementary to high school easier, Schottle said. Every independent elementary district in Flathead County is a member of the co-op.

“We really do a lot of work in trying to provide common curriculums, common expectations,” she said.

Kalispell Middle School does attract some middle school students who want expanded elective and extracurricular opportunities, Schottle said, but for the most part, the districts operate separately, though cooperatively.

“The key to consolidation in my mind is, does it work for those elementary districts? It has to be a marriage that both sides would have to participate in, or it’s not going to be a very positive outcome,” she said.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com