Loveless: Consolidating Small School Administrations Puts More Money In The Classroom
Sen. Kyle Loveless: Consolidating small school district administrations would get more money into classrooms
BY SEN. KYLE LOVELESS
Last March, approximately 25,000 teachers and parents from around the state rallied for education at the state Capitol. The overwhelming majority of those voices were asking for more funding for public education.
With 51 cents of every appropriated dollar funding education, we as lawmakers must look for out-of-the-box approaches to better fund classroom instruction, while ensuring other core functions of government remain stable.
That’s why I introduced Senate Bill 15. This bill would require the administrative functions of a school district with an average daily attendance of fewer than 250 students be combined with a contiguous school district upon the retirement or resignation of the current superintendent. Senate Bill 15 would affect about 130 school districts across the state. Those same districts spend more than $7.4 million in superintendent salaries alone; which averages to approximately $360 per student.
Those funds could go directly to increase teacher pay, keeping quality teachers from going to another field or to attract better, new teachers from leaving the state. We can do all that without closing one school, if we have the political will.