Op-Ed in The Seattle P-I
Those who favor consolidation of some of Washington's state's 299 school districts as a money-saving device invariably note the state has one school district whose elected school board members outnumber the district's students.
Investigation discloses that the school district in question is Hazelmere, tucked in the middle of the Colville Indian Reservation in Ferry County, north of Spokane. It has four full-time students, subject to the policy direction of five school directors or board members.
Rudy Christianson is to Hazelmere as the brass section is to a marching band. That is, he's it's guiding force — superintendent, principal, and sole teacher in the district's one-room schoolhouse. Not surprisingly, he answered the telephone himself the other day.
"We have one in kindergarten, one in the first grade, one in the second grade, and one in the fourth grade, representing three different families," Christianson said. "We're all in one big meeting room."
PARENTAL BOARD MEMBERS
Christianson, who graduated from Inchelium High School in the adjoining Inchelium School District in 1967 and obtained his teaching degree and credentials from Eastern Washington University, said his school board has discussed the possibility of district consolidation from time to time but has decided against it.
The outcome of these deliberations may or may not be colored by the fact that three of the five current board members are parents of the district's quartet of students.
"People here are interested in keeping the school open," Christianson said. "It's the feeling of the board that the kids get extra help."
He also cited the fact that Hazelmere — which has an annual school district budget of $84,000 — is 22 winding miles from Inchelium and said consolidation with the latter would mean that Hazelmere's youngsters would have round-trip bus rides of some three hours daily, although junior and senior high students do endure the trips.
"I've done some soul-searching and I think we're doing the right thing," said Christianson, who added that Hazelmere's board members find plenty to keep them busy, particularly in dealing with various state education requirements, and that he is "busier than a one-armed paperhanger."
The Washington State Research Council is among organizations, and individuals, who recently have raised the issue of the school district consolidation. In a recent report on rising school construction costs and a shrinking common school construction fund, as a result of declining state timber sales, the council posed these questions.:
"Can school construction costs be controlled by more aggressive pursuit of school district consolidations? There are a number of examples of school districts embarking on new construction while adjacent districts with enrollment declines are closing facilities. What can be done to encourage appropriate school district consolidation?"
These are among questions to be addressed during the next year by Gov. John Spellman's Temporary Committee on Educational Policies, Structure and Management. However, in a recent session with the P-I's editorial board, William Chance, the committee's executive director, did not exude confidence about finding the answers.
"It's an intractable kind of problem," said Chance.
He observed that in addition to the construction cost issue, it will be difficult for some very small districts with limited teaching resources to meet new and more demanding state requirements in such subject areas as mathematics and foreign languages.
Individual registered voters in each district need sign such petitions.
Perry Keithley, assistant state school superintendent for finance, says the Legislature has the authority to order consolidations but he sees that as unlikely.
"Legislators consider it the kiss of death to advocate consolidation of school districts," says Keithley.
POPULAR TREND
Despite the high number of school districts, the state has come a long way since 1946 when there were 672 districts. But the decline has leveled off in recent years. The most recent consolidation occurred last year, when the Peshastin-Dryden district in Chelan County merged with the Leavenworth district to form the new Cascade School District. That resulted from an inability of Peshastin-Dryden, which had declining enrollment, to win voter support for tax levies to repair school buildings including its high school, which had been condemned.
Working against consolidation, Keithley observes, is a popular trend toward decentralization and a movement to place public services closer to the people.
"There's a populist desire to control part of the action, to bring it closer to them," Keithley says. "The history of the United States is that schools started in small towns. I don't want to sound corny, but it's the American way."
That would get no argument in Hazelmere.
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