Combining School Resources (IL)

January 26, 2011

More than a dozen Stateline school districts are considering combining resources to help cut back on spending and nearly every aspect of education is being reviewed.

It’s strength in numbers. School districts in Stephenson, Carroll and Jo Daviess counties are looking to join forces and combat financial difficulties.

"When we work together and have that economy of scale there’s a greater propensity for savings and the possibility of lower taxes," says Freeport’s superintendent Dr. Peter Flynn.

"We’re asking about pretty much everything we could think of that might be an opportunity that we can work together," says regional superintendent of ROE #8 Marie Stiefel.

All 14 districts within region eight are reviewing transportation, athletics, technology and even insurance expenditures. Combining and cutting back may be the purpose of their new efforts but expanding classroom offerings and specialized courses is also a goal.

"If perhaps we could find a grant to purchase some video conferencing equipment maybe we could offer those courses to a wider number of students," says Stiefel.

The process is completely voluntary and in the end may not result in any shared services. However just going through the discussion could improve the region’s education.

"In addition to that are there some ways in which we might be able to improve our services because when you start having these conversations there are some ‘ah-ha’ moments where you say to somebody, ‘oh I didn’t realize you did it that way,’" says Flynn.

Once all of the information is collected superintendents from each district will review the results to decide the next step. Changes to regional spending could come by next school year.