[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-602061-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":80,"doc-detail-602061-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":73,"head_meta":75,"extra_data":77,"updated_unix":79},105,"en","how-we-did-it-academic-financial-and-community-aspects-of-rural-school-district-consolidation","How We Did It - Academic, Financial, and Community Aspects of Rural School District Consolidation","","This case study investigates the academic, fiscal, and community impacts of rural school district consolidation in eastern North Carolina, focusing on Wilkins County and the 2017–2018 consolidation of the Tiger High School (THS) Grade 6–12 site. Using informational materials, surveys, interviews, and financial records, it finds that academic outcomes improved, demand for financial support increased, and the community generally perceived consolidation positively. The study concludes that additional years of data are needed to assess long-term effects.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/how-we-did-it-academic-financial-and-community-aspects-of-rural-school-district-consolidation/602061/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/how-we-did-it-academic-financial-and-community-aspects-of-rural-school-district-consolidation/602061.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"acoobca","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":22},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"What was the focus of this rural school district consolidation study?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"It examined the academic, fiscal, and community perception impacts of the 2017–2018 consolidation in Wilkins County, North Carolina.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"How were the data for the study collected?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"Data came from informational materials, surveys, interviews, and financial records available from residents and staff members in Wilkins County.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"What were the main findings about academics, finances, and community perception?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"Academics increased, the need for financial support increased, and the community perceived consolidation positively overall.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},602061,1792093959,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",[83,87,91,95,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":84,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":88,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":131},{"doc_id":78,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":22,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":79,"read_time":144},3985747870733,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_a8503ba1806abce46bf441b54a3ca4cd","How We Did It: Academic, Financial, and Community Aspects of Rural School District  \nConsolidation  \nOdessa Yanisha Mann, Ed.D  \nPitt County Schools  \nDaniel Novey, Ed.D  \nEast Carolina University  \nTravis Lewis, Ed.D  \nEast Carolina University  \nThis study explored the impact of rural school district consolidation in eastern North Carolina. Wilkins County is a low-income, low-performing county with an average daily membership (ADM) of 1,501 students. This case study reviews the process of consolidation one year after the 2017- 2018 consolidation in terms of academic, financial, and community. It was determined that academics increased, the need for financial support increased, and the community perceived the event as positive overall. It was also concluded that additional years of data would be needed to determine the long-term effects.  \nKeywords: school consolidation, rural schools, academic impacts, fiscal impacts, perception impacts  \nICPEL Education Leadership Review, Vol. 22, No. 1– December, 2021 ISSN: 1532-0723 © 2021 International Council of Professors of Educational Leadership  \nSmall school systems have historically struggled to educate children and maintain their attendance levels and campuses (Reynolds, 2013) . Ultimately, the result, especially in rural areas, is the closing of small rural schools (Imazeki & Reschovsky, 2003) . According to the United States Census Bureau (2019), in 1940, 43.5% of the United States (US) population lived in rural areas; now, only 21% do. Despite the decline in the population of the rural areas, there is a need to provide an equitable education for all students who remain (Buzzard, 2016) . Equity becomes an issue in areas with small populations because funding is driven based on the number of students present atthe school site.  \nSchool consolidation is a way to manage school populations by providing increased resources to the consolidated school (Adams & Foster, 2002; Imazeki & Reschovsky, 2003; Reynolds, 2013) . To understand the importance of supporting rural schools in light of the trend towards consolidation, it is necessary to review the impact of consolidation on the school communities. To that end, this case study explored the impact of the 2017-2018 consolidation of the Tiger High School (THS) Grade 6-12 site in Wilkins County, North Carolina. Figure 1 shows the changes to the Wilkins County school sites through consolidation from 2016-2017 through 2018-2019. Consolidation was completed with the intention of addressing academic, fiscal, and perception concerns. The findings from this case study provide a framework for district consolidation to future researchers and practitioners considering the consolidation of several schools into one site.  \nStatement of the Problem  \nThe push to increase efficiency in spending for educational expenses has dominated consolidation debates for years (Grier, 2012; Nitta et al., 2008). Although the debates do not point to results that show financial gain (Silvernail et al., 2007), they do focus on the ability to increase resources for all students (Marchbank, 2015) . This case study is needed to determine the fiscal, academic, and social aspects of school consolidation in the rural eastern NC school district that occurred in 2017- 2018 to prepare for any consolidations in the future. While this is a case study, similar circumstances apply to many rural school districts considering school consolidation.  \nPurpose of the Study  \nWhen rural areas are faced with the practicality of consolidation, it is often around the premise of financial or academic concerns. This study explored the fiscal, academic, and perception impactsat the end of the 2018-2019 school year after the school closed for one full year. Data were collected from informational materials promoting the consolidations, educational facts and figures, surveys, interviews, and financial records available from the residents and staff members in Wilkins County.  \nThe push to consolida","cbCaihrxf57cXVki","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaihrxf57cXVki","pdf",450580,27,"English","# Introduction\n## Statement of the Problem\n## Purpose of the Study\n## Background and Context\n## Data Sources and Measures\n## Costs and Resource Allocation","[{\"question\":\"What was the focus of this rural school district consolidation study?\",\"answer\":\"It examined the academic, fiscal, and community perception impacts of the 2017–2018 consolidation in Wilkins County, North Carolina.\"},{\"question\":\"How were the data for the study collected?\",\"answer\":\"Data came from informational materials, surveys, interviews, and financial records available from residents and staff members in Wilkins County.\"},{\"question\":\"What were the main findings about academics, finances, and community perception?\",\"answer\":\"Academics increased, the need for financial support increased, and the community perceived consolidation positively overall.\"}]","How We Did It - Academic, Financial, and Community Aspects of Rural School District Consolidation | PDF",68]