1. District OR-1:
Consolidation and
Organizational
Stability

2. Overview
• Community/District context
• Consolidation movement
• Organizational Stability Theory
• District OR-1case
• Future considerations

3. Palmyra
Bennet
Douglas
District OR-1 Public Schools
128.7 square miles

5. Bennet, Nebraska
• Population of 730 (2011)
• Community growth trend (29%)
• Comparatively high rate of
construction
• 62,039 annual income
• 3.2% poverty

7. Palmyra, Nebraska
• Population of 548 (2011)
• Flat Growth:
• “Last week was the first sale I’ve
seen since I’ve been here”
(Rob Hanger, Superintendent since 2008)
• 46,667 annual income
• 6.8% poverty

9. Douglas, Nebraska
• Population of 173 (2011)
• Decline (15% loss)
• $38,500 annual income
• 3.2 % poverty

10. Palmyra
Bennet
Douglas
District OR-1 Public Schools
County Line

12. Palmyra
Bennet
Douglas
District OR-1 Public Schools
County Line

15. Phenomenon of School
District Consolidation
• 1939-1940 – 117,108 districts
• 2006-2007 – 13,862 districts
• Decline of 88 percent
Duncombe and Yinger, 2010

17. And in Nebraska….
• 1,044 school districts in 1984
• 257 school districts in 2005
Crogswell, 2009, p. 20

18. State Policies and Consolidation
• Nebraska funding rewards consolidation
• Open enrollment exerts a negative impact
on rural schools (Bassett, 2003)
• Funding policies are formulated to benefit
larger districts with higher population
concentrations
• Limited political power limits rural citizens
o Bassett, 2003 – claims rural consolidation is
“imposed by the 10 percent urban majority
who are ignorant to the rural ways (in Blauwkamp, p. 4)”

19. Brief Overview of Nebraska
Policy Related to
Consolidation

21. LB 806: Cost Grouping
• Funding group influenced by “county population
density” or proximity to next 9-12 school
• District w/ 200 students received approximately
$400,000 a year while another district with 250
students received $800,000 based on its physical
proximately to another school district.
• Elimination of cost grouping by school size meant
that one district was getting $572,000 in state aid
the year prior to LB 806,… this year received only
$5,200 in state aid b/c system distribution of
population took precedence . (p. 90)

22. Argument FOR Consolidation:
District Economic Efficiency
o Lower administrative costs
o Shared & fewer facilities, reduced maintenance
costs
o More specialized teachers, more variety in
courses
o More staff = more peers for advice and dialogue
o Additional funding for sports and extra-curriculars

23. Argument AGAINST Consolidation:
Rural Community Instability
• Social capital
o Community identity & Cultural centers
• Fiscal capacity
o Often a primary source of jobs
o When payroll is gone, employees go
elsewhere, and so does their spending
• Population growth
o Losing a school makes it harder to attract
young families
• Housing values

24. Principles of Community
and School District Stability
• Principle of centripetalism
• Principle of inclusiveness
• Principle of distinctiveness
• Stability allows organizations to adapt
to changes and demands and is vital
for survival
(Thompson, 1967, cited in Bryant & Grady,1990)

25. Principle of centripetalism
o Tendency of various social and economic
forces to centralize. Residents buy, sell, and
trade in town.
o Anti-forces = anything that pulls away from this
central tendency
Principle of inclusiveness
o “togetherness”, belonging, part of something
Principle of distinctiveness
o Residents of one town are distinct from the next
town (NE Lincoln, SE Lincoln)
o When the ability to distinguish is lost, community
instability results

26. “School consolidation makes
schooling a more cost-effective
enterprise, but it does so by rupturing
the connection between the school
and its place in the local community.
That loss harms both the students and
the broader community.”
(Blauwkamp, Longo, Anderson, 2011, p. 3)

27. What does organizational stability theory
tell us about…..
• District OR-1?
• Each community in the service
area?

28. Palmyra
Bennet
Douglas
District OR-1 Public Schools
• Palmyra-Bennet merger, 1965
• Douglas dissolution in 1985

30. Centripetalism
• District population center has shifted from
Palmyra to Bennet.
• “In other districts where I‟ve worked, the
school was the social and entertainment
hub of the community. It‟s not like that
here.”
• “And we‟re not the only show in town….”
• Loss of annexed land to Lincoln

31. Inclusiveness and Distinctiveness
• Multiple very strong communities, all of
which USED to have their own schools
and now use “somebody else‟s school”
• “(When I came), you didn‟t call it
„Palmyra-Bennet elementary,‟ you called
it “Bennet Elementary and Palmyra Jr./Sr.
High.
• Should the smaller community assume
the identity of the school district into
which it is merged?

32. Inclusiveness and Distinctiveness
• Each community has its own sports teams, and
this only increases the competition among the
communities rather than pulling them
together.
• District OR-1 athletic program is historically
weak.
• Bussing was an issue due to feeling excluded.
Each community wanted its share of
transportation –”if the Palmyra students don‟t
have to travel to get to practice, then we
should have our transportation covered as
well.”

33. Inclusiveness and Distinctiveness
• “Douglas is a patchwork quilt.”
• When a new family comes in, the first
thing that I ask is “What‟s your
address”?

34. How to deal with growth in this situation?
• District OR-1 is uniquely situated in a geographic
location that is enjoying significant growth.
• Kindergarten classes are, for the first
time, packed.
o 2 subsequent years of classes that are 75%
larger.
o Schools are land-packed, all classes are being
used.
• 2006 proactive, land acquisition move.

35. Palmyra
Bennet
Douglas
District OR-1 Public Schools

37. Resources
Berry, C. (2006/2007) School consolidationa nd Inequality, brookings papers on Education Policy, 9, 49-75.
Blauwkamp, J., Longo, P., Anderson, J. (2011). School consolidatio in nebrask: Economic efficiency vs. rural commnity life.
The Online Journal of rural Research and Policy. 6, 1, 1-12. (2011)
Bryant, M.T. and Grady, M.L. (1990). Community factors threatening rural school district stability. Research in Rural
Education, 6 (3), 21-26.
Cogswell (2009). Impacts of Nebraska legislative policies on selected small Nebraska school districts. A dissertation for
Seton Hall University.
Cubberly, eP, a brief history of education (boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1922.
District OR 1 Public Schools State Report, 2011, accessed at
http://www.districtor1.org/vnews/display.v/ART/3f6b25519559e
Duncombe and Yinger, 2010, School district consolidation the benefits and costs. the school administrator, 5(67) 10-17)
Fiscal Note: Legislative Fiscal Analyst Estimate, Revision 01, prepared by Inbody, R., on April 29, 2013, accessed at
http://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/Current/PDF/FN/LB407_20130430-131613.pdf
Hudson, C.C., 1986, Exonomic-based, tri-level funding for Nebraska‟s public schools, Journal of Education Finance, 12, 1,
1-8.
NCSA, 1985-1987 legislative Overview, http://schoolfinance.ncsa.org/1985-1987-review
Rolle, R.A., Harris, P., and Burrello, L.C., A heuristic examination of education finance policy, special needs revenue
components, and flexible expenditure possibilities. 90-106. in Unifying Educational systems: Leadership and Policy
Perspectives (burrello, L.C., Sailor, W., and Kleinhammer-Tramill, J. - Routledge, 2012 – accessed via google eBook
preview
Sorensen, R. (2011). 2011 Annual Report. Nebraska Department of Revenue Property Assessment Division. Accessed at
www.revenue.ne.gov.
US Census Bureau. Statistical Snapsnots. Accessed at Census.gov

39. Notable items
• Some have argued that the school equalization formulas
are taxpayer equalization rather than school equality.
• How well are schools converting tax dollars into
graduated, productive individuals?
• Efficiency must take into account how inputs were
converted into valued outputs.
• (smith and street, 2006, as cited in cogsworth, 97)
• Rural development policy should have an impact on
state educational policy