Merged school districts gain steam

The idea of creating 21 countywide school districts to cut administrative costs while allowing schools to retain their local character is gaining momentum with the special legislative committee examining the size and expense of local government.

Sen. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex), the chief proponent of the idea, said after a committee hearing in Trenton yesterday that he foresees countywide districts saving as much as $1.6 billion of the more than $16 billion spent on New Jersey's 611 districts annually.

Smith is co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Government Consolidation and Shared Services, one of four special committees looking for ways to rein in property taxes.

"Our system is the most wasteful and inefficient in the country," Smith said. "We have to make some pretty significant changes in the way we deliver education."

Smith wants to see school administration and business matters such as human resources, salary negotiations, purchasing, transportation, and curriculum decisions handled from a central office in each county. He said the number of administrators, superintendents and legal advisers needed to oversee the schools would also be slashed. Individual schools would continue to have principals, parent-teacher associations, sports teams and retain their names and traditions.

Smith's idea was met with caution by the New Jersey School Board Association. "There are two benchmarks for successful regionalization," said Mike Yaple, an association spokesman. "One, voters need to provide their approval and nothing should be foisted on them by Trenton. Two, we need studies to demonstrate the economic and educational benefits. What we have today is speculation."

Other speakers at yesterday's hearing offered different opinions on how much money could be saved by consolidating schools.

Ernest C. Reock, professor emeritus at Rutgers University's Center for Government Services, said if existing K-6 and K-8 districts were eliminated and consolidated with local high school districts, it could save $365 million annually. He said the figure includes $65 million in administrative savings.

"In an attempt to keep disruption to a minimum, no teachers or pupils would be moved, at least initially; only school district offices would be consolidated," Reock said. "Any further consolidation of schools or classes would be up to the regional board of education."

Barry R. Ersek, a co-director with the New Jersey Association of School Administrators, said his organization leans more toward Reock's proposal than Smith's idea. He said countywide districts would create a new bureaucracy. "We are calling for voluntary consolidation over five years with state incentives," he said.

John Yinger, a professor at Syracuse University, addressed the committee via video connection and said a study he conducted of school consolidations in New York showed cost savings of 24 percent to 40 percent when districts of less than 900 students each are combined. But Yinger warned savings can fade to nothing when larger districts are involved and any initial savings can be wiped away within a few years.

While the committee spent yesterday focusing on school consolidation and the potential savings, Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), the other co-chairman, said the panel will also examine the potential benefits of consolidation and shared services for New Jersey's 566 cities and towns, 212 fire districts, 190 authorities and 21 counties. It is also assigned to look at reducing the size of state government. "There is an enormous amount of territory to cover in a limited amount of time," he said.