Time to merge?

EAST LIVERPOOL - One East Liverpool School Board member believes the time has come to discuss consolidating Columbiana County school districts. He had support in the idea.

"It's time for us to shed our infantile, emotional, attachment to a school district and talk about what is truly essential - comprehensive education at the lowest possible price," school board member Dick Wolf said at Monday night's board meeting.

"What stands out like a sore thumb is a county of our size having 11 school districts," Wolf said.

Wolf then used a local example to bolster his opinion.

"Southern Local and Wellsville, combined, this year graduated slightly more than 100 students," Wolf noted. "That tells me that those school districts are unable to provide advanced placement, higher math or foreign language courses to their high school students. Because of the small numbers, teachers for that are cost-prohibitive."

Wolf took a swipe at districts across the river and yet used it as a possible method of handling the local situation.

"It's past time for the leaders of education in this county to recognize what the backward state of West Virginia has had for years ... that, is county school districts," Wolf said.

Wolf added there should be three high schools in Columbiana County that could then offer "the most comprehensive curriculum that anyone could ever want."

It would also reduce and eliminate administrative positions, Wolf noted.

As a way of jumpstarting the conversation, Wolf said he was prepared to meet with anyone willing to talk about mergers in the county.

"I agree. It is something we should be looking into," board President Robert Estell said.

"I am surprised that, at this point, no one has gone through the effort to put those two school districts together, Estell said concerning Wellsville and Southern Local.

"Quite frankly, I thought that, by now, East Liverpool and Beaver Local would be one school district," Estell noted. "I'm shocked that, to this day, that we aren't."

Estell admitted it would be a tough row to hoe.

"We are very close to our own school district, but we have to learn to put this aside and do what's best for the schoolchildren, Estell said.

Back in 1982 while sitting on the board of education, Wolf said he made a motion then to at least discuss "all viable options" in connection with Beaver Local.

"Lo and behold, my motion died of a lack of a second," Wolf said.

Estell said perhaps the time is now right.

"With the dwindling populations and the fact that we are coming to a very difficult time supplying advanced classes, it is making it very tough," Estell said. "Jointly, I think we could come up with some very creative solutions."

Open to the idea of talking, board member Larry Walton noted, "Our charge is to provide the best education for our children."

District Treasurer Todd Puster weighed in on the matter noting, "In times of financial stress is usually when the state of Ohio has stressed consolidating school districts."

That occurred sometime after World War II when there was more than 1,200 school districts in the state, according to Puster.

More recently, however, the trend reversed. According to Puster, in 1990 there were 612 statewide school districts and, today, there are 614.

Superintendent Ken Halbert was noticeably quiet during the conversation until Wolf suggested he put out a few feelers and contact anyone in the surrounding districts that might have an interest in consolidation.

Halbert said the Chamber of Commerce around the school districts in the Youngstown area had recently broached the idea, but it was met with a great deal of resistance.

"It did not seem to be a popular idea," Halbert noted.

The board took no vote on the topic.

"Merging is a big step," Estell said after the meeting. "However, I think if we don't consider every, plausible, big step, we are selling our children short.

"Merging maybe isn't the direction we will be going in, but I think some dialogue between school districts to help each other and their needs is a good thing."

Estell said he and Walton have had informal conversations with other school district leaders, but he did not go into specifics.

Since East Liverpool City Schools is now "one of the more financially-stable school districts in the area," Estell said, "Maybe it's our place to make that first move so it doesn't look like someone is doing it out of an act of desperation."