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11-9-06 Public hearing on school consolidation tonight, 7 pm, in Freehold
GSCS backs consolidation (and of course shared services which occurs frequently already) efforts of school districts, with the caveat that it remain voluntary for individual districts. GSCS also supports laws and regulations that would secure: 1) a tax structure that would not penalize a district via higher property taxes as a result of consolidating with another school district; 2) find an equitable way for districts not to have to share debt services incurred by one district prior to merging; 3) addresses differences in teacher salaries that would not lead to joined districts' having to cover additional salary costs that are likely to occur due to the merger.
GSCS backs consolidation (and of course shared services which occurs frequently already) efforts of school districts, with the caveat that it remain voluntary for individual districts. GSCS also supports laws and regulations that would secure: 1) a tax structure that would not penalize a district via higher property taxes as a result of consolidating with another school district; 2) find an equitable way for districts not to have to share debt services incurred by one district prior to merging; 3) addresses differences in teacher salaries that would not lead to joined districts' having to cover additional salary costs that are likely to occur due to the merger.
We are interested in Pennsylvania's Intermediate Unit system which goes a long way in helping to provide regionalized services to local districts - from special education instruction and various education programs to transportation to textbooks etc - while sustaining local district home rule.
These points above are currently major stumbling blocks to districts' merging and yet the legislative dialogue on consolidation has remained silent on these issues. GSCS, as well as other groups, have noted these problems consistently when talking to legislators, in our communications in general and in testimonies as well. We formally noted it in our write-up to Gov Corzine's Transition Team/Education last December as well.
