Commissioned study recommends against consolidating O’Fallon, Shiloh school districts
At this time, pursuing a path of cooperation and collaboration is recommended rather than consolidation among O’Fallon and Shiloh school districts, a commissioned study has revealed.
The consolidation would not reduce property taxes or salary expenses, nor would buildings be closed, the report states.
A virtual information meeting took place Tuesday to discuss the study, which is available on the O’Fallon-Shiloh Chamber of Commerce website, www.ofallonchamber.com.
The meeting, which was open to the public, was recorded and made available on social media and the chamber website after the meeting. The study was released June 8.
The O’Fallon School Districts are 90 (five elementary, two junior high and one pre-K center), 104 (two middle and elementary schools) and 203 (high school), and Shiloh is 85 (two middle and village schools).
“This recommendation is not to say that there is no benefit to district consolidation. In fact, a good argument can be made that consolidation of the elementary school districts will be necessary at some point in order to ensure that students enter high school equally prepared,” Chamber Director Debbie Arell-Martinez said prior to the meeting.
“This is particularly the case if collaborative efforts fail to improve this weakness in our schools. Further, consolidation could prove much more efficient to taxpayers when it is time to build or expand facilities. Most of the desired cost efficiencies of consolidation are in the form of reducing facilities or in reducing salary expense through a reduction in teacher staff,” she said.
“Based upon the financial analysis of the consultants and by the financial analysis of the Illinois State Board of Education, the consolidation effort will provide no significant relief regarding local property taxes. This is primarily due to the reduction in revenues from the state of Illinois’ Evidence Based Funding (EBF) model combined with increased salary expense from consolidation.
“Additionally, there is the possibility that after state incentives expire, or if the state does not fully fund these incentives, a tax referendum could become necessary to keep the newly consolidated district solvent.”
The O’Fallon-Shiloh Chamber of Commerce commissioned the study to provide an analytical approach to the question of school district consolidation in the community. It was funded by the city of O’Fallon, the village of Shiloh and the chamber, which will have no role in recommendations or taking an initiative to voters.
“The chamber recognizes that a high-achieving school system is integral to a thriving community. It also is keen to ensure that the taxes that fund the districts are spent as efficiently as possible,” Arell-Martinez said.
Summarizing the study
Assumption was potential cost savings from combining districts, greater administrative effectiveness and operation efficiencies.
The study highlighted the opportunities and consequences in the following categories: Transportation, enrollment, facilities, curriculum, extracurricular, financial, incentives, tax rate and constituent benefits.
The framework for the categories was “Will It Be Good for the Kids?”For transportation, the districts have achieved cost savings by negotiating collectively with Illinois Central Bus Service. More savings could happen through aligning bell times, combining routes and focusing on Special Education transportation.
Within the four districts in O’Fallon and Shiloh, there are 13 buildings, and most are relatively new. Only Fulton Junior High in District 90 is considered to have a deficit capacity. The study concludes that no new facilities are needed.
Enrollment has been stable over the last 10 years and is not considered an area of concern. The study projects small increases, with District 90 to be growing the most.
The only reason for school consolidation now is curriculum alignment, which is a weakness. Central District 104 is lagging; according to 2018 testing, 28% of Central students met or exceeded expectations in English Language Arts (37 percent is state average) and 19 percent in math (32 percent).
Central has a higher free or reduced lunch count, a higher English Language Learner count and a higher percentage of the enrollment considered low income (51.8 percent) than any of the other districts.
Articulation of the curriculum between elementary districts is weak and needs improvement, consultants stated. With effective consolidation, overall test scores would improve after a unified curriculum. Consolidation would provide consistency of curriculum, honor roll, grading scales, expectations, electives and communication to parent. This could also be achieved if articulation took place between the districts.
Collaborative efforts by the districts to balance the curriculum between each elementary school the high school is of primary importance, the report said.
This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 1:01 AM.