School Finance and District Support

School District Consolidation in Massachusetts: http://www.doe.mass.edu/research/reports/1109consolidation.pdf. This document provides a brief history of regionalization; explains the complex web of relationships that already exist among districts; looks at some demographic, fiscal, and programmatic factors that might motivate districts to regionalize; and uncovers some lessons from a recent series of regionalization studies. It is also intended as a companion piece to a more in depth report on the outcomes of recent planning studies included in the following document.

Results of Regional Planning Studies: http://finance1.doe.mass.edu/regional/Reg_PlanningGrants.doc. This report summarizes the individual results of recent planning studies in the context of the district’s existing affiliations and compares the current findings with concerns and benefits that have been identified in the past.

A Study of Central Office Capacity in Regional Districts: http://www.doe.mass.edu/research/reports/1109mars.pdf. This study examines central office staff and their roles or functions in terms of district size. The study was undertaken by the Massachusetts Association of Regional Schools (MARS) at the request of ESE in order to provide factual information for the ongoing discussion about regionalization, consolidation, and collaboration among small districts in which the question of central office capacity has been raised repeatedly.