Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Graduation rates linked to district size

Reducing the physical size of Nevada's school districts would improve high school graduation rates by encouraging competition among smaller districts, a study released today by the Manhattan Institute concludes.

"Nevada could make significant improvement in their graduation rates if they made school districts smaller," said Marcus Winters, a researcher at the institute.

Analysts with the conservative think tank found that decreasing the average size of a state's school district by 200 square miles led to an increase of about 1.7 percent in graduation rates.

Using information provided by the U.S. Department of Education, researchers at the institute analyzed high school graduation rates and average school district size in 49 states between 1993 and 2001. Arizona was excluded because of inadequate data.

According to the study, Nevada had the second-largest districts in the country. Its 17 districts covered an average of 6,460 square miles. Only Alaska had larger districts, at 10,213 square miles on average.

The median size for a school district nationally was 260 square miles.

Nevada is also home to the Clark County School District, the nation's fifth-largest school system, which covers 7,910 square miles and serves more than 280,000 students.

If Clark County were divided into four districts, Winters contends, its graduation rate would rise by 8 percent or 1,813 students.

Nevada has operated with its counties serving as school districts since 1954, according to Keith Rheault, the state's superintendent of public instruction. That year, the state downsized from 185 districts to 17.

Winters acknowledged that larger school districts don't necessarily equate to lower graduation rates.

Nevada's graduation rate was 67 percent for the 2000-01 school year, 3 percent below the national average at that time.

Analysts concluded that in states where school districts are plentiful, the districts tend to be smaller and perform better because parents have the option of sending their children to a neighboring district if they aren't satisfied.

"The more choices parents have in the school systems that educate their children, the more the school systems are motivated to compete for their enrollment," Winters said. "This competition is leading to higher educational outcomes. Large school districts like Clark County can afford to take those kids for granted because those parents don't have anywhere else to go."

Winters compared Clark County to the Boston metropolitan area, which has 70 school districts within a 30 minute drive of downtown.

However, Clark County Superintendent Carlos Garcia said breaking up large districts can result in the segregation of poorer students and escalating costs shouldered by the state.

"What tends to happen is you end up creating an atmosphere of haves and have-nots," he said. "Generally speaking, I would not disagree that small schools do better. But from an economic standpoint, how do we make that happen?"

Clark County also has economies of scale, Garcia said. A smaller district would mean more operational costs for several districts, instead of just one.

"Small districts still have to hire principals, teachers and administrators," he said.

Garcia added that large districts can create a smaller atmosphere through its facilities. The district will unveil a new prototype high school in the fall that consolidates all core classes in the same area, giving students a better learning environment, Garcia said.

State Sen. Sandra Tiffany, R-Henderson, has tried unsuccessfully to break up the district for more than a decade.

She recently introduced a resolution calling for a study to form a plan to deconsolidate the district. The measure asks that the study examine how many districts the Clark County School District would be broken into and proposed boundaries.

The resolution has been referred to the Senate Committee of Legislative Operations and Elections.

Tiffany could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Lawmakers don't appear ready to break up Nevada school districts, Rheault said.

"There's no appetite to do that," he said. "So you work with the structure that's been set up."