Studies not enough to cut administrative bloat in Illinois schools
The Illinois State Board of Education is giving school districts an incentive to study consolidation, but a flawed process still stands in the way. The state has too many school districts, driving up administrative costs and property taxes.
Illinois state lawmakers recognized supporting administration for 866 school districts siphons dollars away from students and teachers in the classroom, so they passed a law providing grants for districts that study consolidating.
But the grants will barely touch the problem because school districts leaders must pursue the efforts, and they have little incentive to do so. Taxpayers and their elected representatives have the incentive and should be leading efforts to merge school district administrations without closing any schools.
House Bill 2966, the School Code Consolidation Analysis, was signed into law Aug. 15. Effective immediately, the costs for a school district to conduct a reorganization study may be covered through a grant from the State Board of Education.
But incentivizing the 866 school districts within Illinois to begin consolidating through covering costs of a study does little to redirect excessive administrative costs back to the students. As of 2024, the average salary for administrators and support personnel was at a 10-year high of nearly $120,000. Some administrators make significantly more, with one who recently retired amid a DUI scandal paid over $500,000.
Illinois spent 2.5-times the national average on “general administration” costs in 2018. Had it matched the national average, it would have saved $716.6 million that year.
And Illinois has lots of potential for consolidating districts. Nearly half of Illinois’ school districts serve only one or two schools.
School district consolidation refers only to combining the areas governed by district administration and the school boards – cutting positions such as superintendents, human resources, marketing and other administrative support. District consolidation does not reduce the number of schools, teachers, principals or guidance counselors.
Taxpayers are at a disadvantage to push district consolidation under Illinois law. Regional superintendents of schools can veto any consolidation, regardless of a study being conducted.
School district consolidation is a proven strategy to boost education quality and student outcomes. Illinois residents deserve a chance to decide directly on how many layers of district administration is right for their community.
States with larger districts serving more students and more schools also, on average, spend less on district-level administration and place lower burdens on homeowners through property taxes. Illinois property taxes are now the highest in the nation.
The grant program to study school district consolidation reduces the cost on school districts to show why they should focus on students and teachers rather than administrative bureaucracy. It cannot be the last step.
Barriers to consolidation need to be removed so the decisions are made by voting taxpayers, not bureaucrats.