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Voice of The Southern: Combine school districts, get rid of administrators

Our View: It will upset parents and educators, but Gov. Pat Quinn's plan to consolidate school districts and eliminate administrative positions is a smart way to save money.

During his budget address Wednesday in Springfield, Gov. Pat Quinn skimped on many of the actual details of his proposed Fiscal Year 2012 budget, instead choosing to highlight job growth in Illinois.

However, eyes statewide opened a little wider when Quinn dropped in this nugget:

"Illinois currently has 868 school districts, and our fiscal reality demands consolidation. ... Consolidation lowers administrative overhead, improves efficiency and will save taxpayers $100 million."

In an address short on specifics, this one was an eye-opener. Not only was it a direct proposal - and a controversial one at that - but it's a smart one. And it's something a commission being assembled by Quinn should not only consider, but should also implement.

After Quinn's address, some of his top staffers and advisers explained where that $100 million in savings would come from. The plan is to cut the number of districts by nearly two-thirds, from 868 to fewer than 300. Roughly half of the state's superintendents make more than Quinn takes home in a year, his advisers said, and by eliminating 600 superintendents' salaries from the books, those $100 million in savings could be realized.

Add in office costs for 600 districts, and the savings will exceed that.

The proposal is sure to have plenty of opposition, and will rile up parents and educators across the state - that's the natural reaction anytime "school" and "consolidation" are placed in the same sentence. And while making voters mad certainly isn't on the top of any politician's list, this is a proposal that will save money and, if done correctly, improve the quality education our children deserve.

As an example, consider Carbondale's public schools. Carbondale Elementary School District 95 has four schools, while Carbondale Community High School is in its own district. By combining those into one district, administrative costs could certainly be reduced. Similar examples abound across the state.

Quinn's advisers said Wednesday such a plan could be executed without closing any schools, and that a decision to consolidate school buildings would come from local school boards and governments, not from Quinn's office. They simply want to see the number of administrators reduced.

That may not be an entirely realistic plan - in some cases, in some rural areas, it's likely buildings would need to close. But again, combining some of the state's smaller schools can save costs without sacrificing education, and no matter how unpopular the decision may be, the state's back is up against the proverbial wall. Cutting costs absolutely has to happen in every department across the state, and this is one feasible way to do it in education.

Another way to save some money comes from another of Quinn's proposals Wednesday. The governor said he would like to eliminate state funding for regional superintendents, which would save the state at least $13 million in administrative and office costs.

"The $13 million annual savings will be spent in the classroom, rather than on administration," Quinn said.

These are the sorts of proposals Quinn and Illinois' General Assembly need to be looking at. Those opposed - and there will be plenty of people opposed - will scream and yell about how this plan will ruin public education in Illinois. But in 20 years, no one will remember the controversy over district consolidation. No one will remember the 868 districts the state used to have. Instead, they'll be sending their children and grandchildren to more efficiently run districts.

Significant changes need to be made for Illinois to be fiscally solvent, and some of those changes will undeniably hurt. Consolidating school districts and reducing the number of administrators is simply one of many steps that need to be taken - but one step forward is nice to see from a state that has spent years and decades stumbling back.