As the good people of the Oldham-Ramona-Rutland head to the polls today to decide whether to dissolve their dwindling rural school district, I notice that Joe Kirby wrote last month that Sioux Falls should consider a monster school consolidation plan: merge the nine school districts in the Sioux Falls metro area into one!
The nine districts that functionally make up the Sioux Falls region are: Sioux Falls, Brandon Valley, Harrisburg, Tea, Lennox, Tri-Valley, West Central, Dell Rapids, and Baltic. Seven sit at least partially inside city limits; Dell Rapids and Baltic are just outside.
Together they educate the 35,000 to 40,000 students in our community. But they do so separately, each with its own superintendent, business office, transportation fleet, buildings and grounds team, and governance structure. School superintendents in the Sioux Falls area make salaries as high as $260,000 a year, much more than our mayor’s salary.
…A single Sioux Falls metro area school district would not magically erase every challenge. But it would align educational governance with the economic reality of a unified metro area. It would equalize tax bases, allow for coordinated capital planning, and reduce redundant administrative overhead. Instead of nine superintendents, nine central offices, nine transportation systems and nine curriculum shops, the region could operate with one. That savings could flow to classrooms or back to taxpayers.
More importantly, it could distribute enrollment more evenly, reduce racial and economic segregation, and allow the larger Sioux Falls community to invest strategically in new schools where they are needed most, not where historical district boundaries happen to fall [Joe Kirby, “Want Lower Property Taxes? Start by Fixing School Boundaries,” Sioux Falls Joe, 2025.11.18].
Politically, Kirby’s proposal is likely impossible. Sioux Falls can’t unilaterally reach out and absorb an adjoining district. Consolidation requires mutual consent from all districts, and unlike Oldahm-Ramona-Rutland, Brandon, Harrisburg, Tea, and the other suburban districts are growing and have no reason to give up their places of privilege. Property tax reform advocates are having trouble getting traction for any of a host of smaller reforms; whatever angst exists over property taxes hasn’t built to the critical mass necessary to move Kirby’s more radical plan for massive school consolidation. The savings of school consolidation will have to come from outside the big towns, one district at a time, as places like Oldham-Ramona-Rutland decide they just can’t make the case for keeping their rural schools open.
Someday we just have to admit our current regressive tax system just doesn’t work anymore and adopt something like North Dakota’s more progressive system. There, I said it.
The Tea Party won’t give in!
As with any school consolidation discussion, there are 186 vested interests in opposition. Administrative costs drive shortages in public education; principals take the hit of that criticism, but is upper administration that skims the most cream.
How are 66 county seats and their bureaucracies either conservative or sustainable? They’re not; but, it’s the way Republican cronyism and patronage built barricades to democracy by providing benefits of the public dole to those who say they deplore big gubmint in a state that hates poor people.
I remember having a conversation back in the 90s with none other than Bill Janklow on SDPB when Dakota Midday was still called South Dakota Forum about consolidating counties and making two regental universities community colleges. He said he carried a “bloody shirt” for bringing a similar suggestion to the legislature and regents.
New Mexico is nearly 60% larger than South Dakota and does great with just 33 counties.
Just to tag on to Larry, New Mexico has 88 school districts.
Call in Musk to find all the waste, fraud and abuse in the public schools of the state.
BTW knocking off a few school supts won’t bring the financial relief people think.
O, your dad would agree. I had a lot of spirited conversations with that wise man. A lot of it about Castlewood, too.
grudznick’s close personal friend Lar is righter than right.
The Valley of Brandon and Tea may not want to be gobbled by the beast, but to get ride of those fatcat administrators it needs to happen. The legislatures need to step in and force consolidation. Rapid and Douglas. Sturgis and Spearfish. The Sioux Falls Monstrosity. Pierre and Ft. Pierre. Mitchell could eat 20 little towns around it.
Smoke another bowl, Sanborn.
Oldham Ramona Rutland voting today to dissolve or not. Grudz’ disdain for school supts could get satisfied. Or not. ORR loves their supt.
IMO bigger districts getting bigger does not mean more efficiency or savings. I think districts could work together to save money such as:
-purchasing agent that could purchase in larger quantities, such as paper products, food, computers, etc. These agents could also create larger services contracts such as bussing, cleaning, painting, HVAC, etc.
-recruiter who could work for multiple districts. This could lead to staff more easily moving to a school that better suits them and thus retain staff in the area verses moving out of the area.
-larger number of employees typically see slightly better insurance rates and possible discounts from providers.
-purchase software such as payroll that could be used by multiple districts.
Consolidating schools can save an immense amount of money. However, the towns surrounding Sioux Falls are not wanting for money nor are they low in test scores. Those children are big fish in a small pond. Why would they want to get sucked into a larger system where their children are small fish in a big pond? As I’ve mentioned before, bussing is a big issue for families and it’s costly for a district. Sending the kiddies to the big city would also wreak havoc on a parent’s schedule. Driving to school events in SF instead of downtown Dell Rapids or Tea has quite an effect on the sense of community.
I approve of consolidation when the schools are less than 100 in population, with the approval of the residents. It’s difficult to keep the doors open financially. However, those districts around SF are not having problems, so leave them be.
On The Side … For jollies I checked a couple boxes on HillsDale Education’s website and now get mailings of very high-quality card stock. HillsDale’s got beaucou bucks.
I’m no problem solver.
In short. Hilly Will Pay the Billy *You kinda have to sell the state’s soul but you’d have private K-12 for all. On your new ‘broadband”, of course.
Right Grudzie? Bring in the out of staters.
The 800 pound gorilla here is culture. Tri Valley has a completely different attitude toward guns. It’s a very conservative district and not a good match for Sioux Falls.
One thing I did not see mentioned is “ we do not want to lose our sports team”
I have witnessed failed consolidation efforts in rural Minnesota because of that ‘minor’ glitch.
Mr. Lansing, none of these schools are out of taters.
Lar, are you saying grudznick is woke, or are you refusing to acknowledge I am the Galactic Emperor of Breakfasting in the City of Rapid? What are you saying?