Consolidating school districts possible to deal with budget shortfall
The Department of Education is studying districts that have had voluntary consolidations, including the Grenada School District, Vicksburg-Warren and Natchez-Adams to see how those schools have been affected academically and financially.
“Let’s work with the facts and take the emotional piece out of this,” Jordan said.
Mississippi Higher Education Commissioner Hank Bounds could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Previous school consolidation efforts in the Legislature have failed. Senate Universities and Colleges Committee Chairman Doug Davis, R-Hernando, said it’s too early to predict whether the 2010 Legislature will attempt to consolidate schools, but Flaggs’ statements were not a surprise.
“You’re going to hear serious conversations on topics that this Legislature has not addressed in recent years,” Davis said.
Davis thinks the state’s budget constraints will push lawmakers to weigh difficult options. Revenues were down 12 percent – about $128 million – for the first quarter of this fiscal year compared to last year, and officials expect they will continue to fall.
Clarion-Ledger
10/22/9
Magnolia Tribune
