John M. Amis and Paul M. Wright, eds. Race, Economics, and the Politics of Educational Change: The Dynamics of School District Consolidation in Shelby County, Tennessee. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2018. Pp. 274. $59.95 (cloth).

2020 ◽  
Vol 105 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-180
Author(s):  
Walter D. Greason
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
Educational Change ◽  
School District Consolidation ◽  
University Of Tennessee ◽  
District Consolidation ◽  
Shelby County

The Disintegration of Memphis-Shelby County, Tennessee: School District Secession and Local Control in the 21st Century

2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 651-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Genevieve Siegel-Hawley ◽  
Sarah Diem ◽  
Erica Frankenberg
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Civil Rights Movement ◽  
Local Control ◽  
21St Century ◽  
School District Consolidation ◽  
Economic Segregation ◽  
Societal Benefit ◽  
District Consolidation ◽  
Shelby County

In this qualitative case study, we explore the political impulses behind suburban secession from the 2013 Memphis-Shelby County merger, the largest school district consolidation in recent history. Decades removed from the Civil Rights Movement, during a period of stark inequality, colorblind law and policymaking, and a diminished understanding of education as a societal benefit, the central suburban rationale for secession, local control, carries new weight. It gives already privileged communities a race-neutral, legally sanctioned, and politically persuasive way to discuss resource accumulation that maps onto existing racial and economic segregation. Memphis-area lessons offer insight into an increasing number of secession struggles and enrich our understanding of how educational advantage is consolidated in the 21st-century metropolis.

scholarly journals Consolidating Rural School Districts: Potential Savings and Effects on Student Achievement

2000 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 573-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Jacques ◽  
B. Wade Brorsen ◽  
Francisca G. C. Richter
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Rural School ◽  
Rural School Districts ◽  
School District Consolidation ◽  
School District Size ◽  
District Consolidation

AbstractOne frequently proposed policy is to consolidate rural school districts in order to save money by obtaining economies of size. The effects of school district size on both expenditures and standardized test scores are estimated for Oklahoma. Results indicate that economies of scale with respect to expenditures per student exist up to an average daily membership (ADM) of 965 students, but that as school districts become larger, tests scores decline. Even if savings in school district administration from consolidation are spent on instruction, state average test scores would decrease slightly. Thus, school district consolidation can reduce costs, but it will also reduce student learning.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document