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Study looks at whether Lincoln schools should consolidate
By Michele Steinbacher
msteinbacher@pantagraph.com
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LINCOLN — Residents interested in whether the Lincoln area’s five school districts should consolidate soon can hear the results of a six-month study on the question.

Bill Phillips, a University of Illinois-Springfield educational leadership professor, led a trio of researchers in producing a consolidation feasibility study. At a three-hour community meeting on June 27, Phillips will summarize findings detailed in the authors’ 200-plus page document.

Consolidating would bring benefits as well as challenges, said Dean Langdon, superintendent of Lincoln Community High School District 404.

“I think the board was thinking about it from the efficiency standpoint,” he said.

A consolidation could cut back on administrators and support staff while expanding program opportunities for students, he said.

However, combining five districts would mean having to redesign five salary schedules into one, he said. And creating a larger district likely would lead to some higher salaries, said Langdon.

The high school district’s board proposed last fall researching consolidation. Its school board invited the area’s four feeder elementary districts to join the study, and all accepted, said Langdon.

“I don’t know if all would want to consolidate — this just meant that all agreed to take part in the study,” he said.

Kirby Rodgers, superintendent of Lincoln Elementary School District 27, said each feeder district’s role was to provide background information to researchers.

District 27 intends to send representatives to the June 27 meeting.

“We’re very interested to hear the opinions” the researchers have formed, he said. He declined to say whether he supported a move for consolidation.

“I want to do what’s best for the overall district. But, each of these districts have individual concerns, and I understand that too,” said Rodgers.

In the past, a unanimous backing from the feeder districts would be required to allow any consolidation, said Langdon. If only one district rejected the plan, the entire consolidation would fail.

A recent change in Illinois law makes it possible for some districts in a consolidation plan to go forward even if some districts vote against it and drop out, said Langdon.



Consolidation talk

What: Authors of a feasibility study for consolidating Lincoln-area schools will present their findings

When: 6:30 p.m. June 27

Where: Lincoln College’s Meyer-Evans Student Center, Lincoln

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