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School board weighs systems merger
Study says Davidson County would lose financing, but recent bill may influence decision
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Lexington schools would get less money after a merger, the study says.
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Published: March 4, 2009
LEXINGTON - A study that came out last month said that Davidson County could lose millions in federal, state and local money if its three school systems merged.
But it makes no recommendation on whether the school systems should merge, leaving that decision to local education leaders. And that decision could be affected by a bill filed by a state legislator that calls for the state to limit school money to one system per county.
"Something is going to be decided in the next few weeks," said Allan Thompson, the chairman of the Davidson County Board of Education. "That will really help determine what we really need to do."
The study was done by Davidson Vision, a nonprofit organization set up to help the county's economy. Two years ago, Davidson Vision did a preliminary study on a merger. This is a more in-depth study that took more than a year to complete. Davidson County commissioners plan to discuss the study Thursday morning during the monthly informational meeting.
Davidson is one of the few counties that have multiple school systems. Surry is another. For the past few years, state Sen. Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, has filed a bill that could force such counties to merge their school systems, but it has never passed. Rand filed a similar bill late last month that he said would help the state save $11.4 million.
Rand said he sees no reason for counties to have multiple school systems, saying it is a waste of taxpayer money. "We need to save the money," he said.
According to the study, a merger could happen in several ways. The Davidson County Board of Commissioners could vote to have the three systems merge. The school boards of all three systems could voluntarily enter into a plan to merge. Or one of the city school systems could turn in its charter to the state and dissolve.
In any of those scenarios, however, the merged school system would likely lose federal, state and local money.
Some federal and state money is tied to how many low-income students a school district has. Lexington and Thomasville city schools have more low-income students than Davidson County schools, the study says. A merged school system would dilute the percentage of low-income students, resulting in a loss of money.
If the state bill passes, the school systems would lose $2.2 million. If the school systems merge as a response to the bill, they would lose at least $6 million and as much as $12.8 million in federal money because of changes in demographics, the study says.
The school systems could lose between $4.2 million and $9.75 million in state money.
In addition, both city school systems get some local money through a supplemental tax, which could potentially be lost if the school systems merged.
Lee Davis, the chairman of the Lexington City Board of Education, said that the next step is for leaders to talk. But as he sees it, there is no benefit for the school systems to merge.
"There's no financial advantage at all," he said. "It would be a great financial loss."
John Walser, the mayor of Lexington, sees things differently.
"I think three segregated schools is not good for anyone," he said. "I just think we all ought to sit down and think about what's best for the kids. I don't think we have the best model in the county right now."
Walser said he believes that a merger would help improve education, adding that it would not happen overnight.
"We're fractured at this point," he said. "The county looks after theirs, Lexington looks after ours, and Thomasville looks after theirs."
Lewie Phillips, the program coordinator for Davidson Vision and co-author of the study, said that the organization did not take a position on a merger because it just wanted to present the facts.
"If change is going to occur it should come from those involved in the education of the schoolchildren in the county," he said.
Fred McClure, the chairman of the Davidson County Board of Commissioners, said that the study provides everyone with accurate numbers. The big question is whether a merger would improve the education of children.
"Ultimately, our goal in the county is to provide the best education we can for all the children," he said.
■ Michael Hewlett can be reached at 727-7326 or at mhewlett@wsjournal.com.
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