Breaking up is hard to do

Florida has some of the biggest school districts in the country. Just think about it. Our state has 14 districts that serve 50,000 students or more. That's 21 percent of the 67 counties. Nationally, just 84 districts, or 1 percent, are that large.

In some of the biggest ones, including Miami-Dade and Hillsborough, talk has come up from time to time that not every community gets equal treatment in such a widespread system. It was not too long ago that Temple Terrace leaders looked into seceding from the Hillsborough district to form their own city school system. (They backed down after conversations with Hillsborough leaders.) Over in Broward County, the city of Pembroke Pines has created its own charter district to serve its residents.

Every once in a while, state lawmakers have explored the idea of allowing the state's largest districts to separate. The concept didn't come up this past session, but it did in 2006 and 2007. Now comes the Legislature's Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability with a report stating that the idea - though doable - poses complex legal, financial and educational challenges:

While research has not found that there is an optimum student population size for public school districts, several states including California, Hawaii, and Utah have made efforts to reorganize their large school districts. However, only Utah is currently pursuing school district division. If the Legislature were to pursue a policy allowing large Florida school districts to divide, constitutional and boundary issues would need to be resolved. In addition, several financial, legal, and other areas would need to be addressed, some of which may be particularly complex.

OPPAGA notes that splitting districts could lead to a reduction in educational services and an increase in overhead costs. Drawing new boundaries could create political controversy while also upsetting the state's finance system that balances the way education resources are allocated equally among poor, middle class and rich areas.

Issues such as who gets which schools, and how to maintain integrated school populations, also could come into play. Constitutional rights and responsibilities also would need amending.

Due to the potential educational, legal, and financial issues associated with subdivision, the Legislature may wish to establish a study panel of legislators, school district officials, education experts, and other stakeholders to develop recommendations on how best to proceed with subdividing the state’s large school districts.

So far there's been no action on this issue this year. But it could arise again. Just thought we'd share some of the potential problems that OPPAGA found, in case you or someone you know wants to press the matter.

Comments

this is a good idea and should be done.
where I'm from (Ohio), we had thousands of school districts.
Every city, town and village had it's own school board and school district.
While it may not possess the economy of scale some of Florida's large school districts do, the education outcomes certainly would be much better with smaller districts.
The advantages are less bureaucracy thereby translating to increased spending on direct classroom expenditures, smaller learning communities where students and (not bureaucracy) come first, more of a nurturing environment where "everyone knows everyone" and you're not just another FTE for the school.
Alot less kids slip through the cracks, school safety is improved, discipline problems are fewer and student achievement higher than in Florida's overcrowded and over capacity public schools.
Florida's state constitution basically entrusts 99% of all power to the locally elected school boards making it difficult for positive reforms to take place.
Unfortunately, the constitution makes each of Florida's 67 counties its school districts as well. Like the old Clint Eastwood movie it's like "the good, the bad and the ugly".
With mega districts there is a loss of touch with constituents and breakdown of education order.
This idea was originally pushed by former state lawmaker Ralph Arza and should have been adopted then.
The longer we wait the worse our schools get but I don't expect this one to pass.

[Ann E. Mouse]

The problem here is that there are lots of communities that like to identify themselves as distinct areas (i.e. Carrollwood, Keystone, etc), but they are not incorporated as cities or villages. Instead, they are non-entities within "unincorporated Hillsborough County". As is typical of Florida, these people want something for nothing. They want to have a say as to what roads get widened in their communities, but they don't want to step up to the plate and actually form their own governing bodies. Those governing bodies, would -- and should -- include school districts, supported by local property taxes.

The size of the district isn't the real issue, 4:49. The problem is the size of the schools. 800 in an elementary, 1200 in middle and 2400 in high school? Just my humble teacher's opinion.

[John]

Try 3000 in a high school. With 1 princpal, up to 3 assistant principals, 4 more assistant principals, almost 200 teachers and assistant teachers and we are to give individual attention to the students. Teaching 6 classes is the "straw that broke the camel's back." June 5, I'm outta here.

[Timmy!]

...and then add the additional responsibility of trying to enforce everything from anti-bullying policies to tardies to cellphone and iPod use.

The AP's are only human and as humans may lack the consistency of application which breeds discontent. Add in the area supervisor's or school board override on discipline issues and is it any wonder the kids rule?