CITY DEBATES SCHOOL MERGER
Ryan Holland
The Enquirer - October 24, 2007

In an informal Enquirer survey — with 11 of the 20 candidates responding — Mark Behnke, Jarrite Jackson and John Cash supported at least beginning community conversations about the merger.

Bill Morris, who did not respond, has said in previous interviews he would be for consolidating the two districts as well.

While acknowledging voters and school boards would have to make the final decision to combine school districts, Behnke said it was an economic imperative to broach the topic.

Consolidation, he said, would allow students to avail themselves of course offerings at each school, leveling the playing field and producing competitive learners.

"As economic competition begins to heat up, we must present ourselves with the best possible scenario when it comes to education," he said. "I just think we need a good debate about consolidation."

Candidates were unsure exactly what a blended school district would look like, deferring to voters and school boards to eventually determine what the educational priority would be.

School administrators, however, pointed to current collaboration work as proof that Lakeview and Battle Creek already are putting their heads together.

Lakeview Superintendent Cindy Ruble — the de facto leader of an effort to reduce administrative redundancies in the four Battle Creek area school districts — said full consolidation may not be necessary.

Lakeview, Battle Creek, Pennfield and Harper Creek are working together in areas of human resources, finance, technology and curriculum development.

"I think (collaboration) is the best of both worlds," Ruble said. "The work that we're doing is good business management. It is quickly blurring the lines of our business operations ... and you still have those separate school identities."

Stopping short of endorsing full consolidation, candidates John Godfrey, Chris Simmons, Robert Sutherby, Elizabeth Fulton and David Walters all mentioned the collaboration efforts as a model for the school districts' interaction.

Ruble said she would not stand in the way of consolidation if voters clamored for it.

Charles Coleman, superintendent of Battle Creek Public Schools, said the schools would continue to focus on collaboration until any other taxpayer mandate materialized.

"The focus at this juncture — which has been approved by our board — is collaboration. We've not yet been charged with looking at consolidation," he said.

Community leaders and some parents cited an anemic economy as one of the key catalysts for overcoming entrenched school affiliations.

"When you talk about consolidation, people really do identify pretty intensely with their local schools," said Jim Hettinger, president and CEO of Battle Creek Unlimited Inc. "But it's possible to have some kind of system that keeps loyalty and pride intact while getting more money back into the classroom."

Hettinger — who admitted consolidation was a long way off — said money saved on administrative costs could be directed to technology, helping Battle Creek students become more attractive to potential employers.

"When you're working with a finite amount of funds, I have to ask myself as a board member, 'Is this really the best way to spend taxpayer dollars, and does the city really need two school districts?'" said Susan Buckley, a trustee on the Battle Creek Public Schools' Board of Education.

"I think the time may be right to step out boldly and start to think about what is best for our kids."

Battle Creek Public Schools last year patched an approximately $3 million budget deficit with reserve funds.

"I think (consolidation is a great idea)," said Joann Curtis, the 71-year-old grandmother of a Battle Creek Central High School senior. "Our school is getting smaller, and I think we need to put our resources together."

Opponents of consolidation, though, maintain the system is already working.

"If I had a good arm, I could probably hit Battle Creek Central with a baseball," said Mike Wallace, 46, who sends his daughter to Lakeview High School through the Schools of Choice program. "But the fact of the matter is that I like Lakeview's teachers as they are now. I don't know how that would change if you were going to merge the schools."

Pete Christ, a member of the Battle Creek Public Schools' Board of Education during the 1983 merger with Springfield schools, added that any effort to consolidate would be doomed if it moved too quickly.

School officials in Battle Creek and Springfield met frequently for almost two years before the details of the proposed consolidation were put to voters, he said.

"I'm leery of people who start with a solution without identifying what the problem or need is," Christ said. "When you get in a hurry, what may be a good idea won't materialize unless someone sits down and says, 'How will this improve the educational outcomes for the students?'"