Rural Schools in a Global Economy

School Administrator, Oct, 1997 by Hobart Harmon

Nurturing community schools demands a keen sense of place

More than 45 percent of the nation's schools and 50 percent of the local school districts are located in rural areas and small towns. Serving as a district administrator in such places offers some of the most challenging experiences in American public education.

Perhaps foremost among the challenges is how administrators in rural districts with small schools can provide the curriculum and extracurricular opportunities that will prepare all students for success in a global economy. Equally difficult is the dilemma school district administrators face when they pursue stare, federal or global educational goals. Administrators find themselves between a rock and a hard place when parents and the community question the relationship of such goals to locally determined needs of their students and their community.

You've heard the oft-quoted saying "all politics are local." Successful district administrators in rural areas know well that "all education is local" when it comes to advocating what's best for students. In a rural area, effective management practices and a keen sense of place are the cornerstones that enable a school district administrator to think globally and act locally--all the time keeping hold of his or her leadership position.

What are some of these practices? And can we still create and nurture community schools in a society captivated by a global economy?

Fiscal Practices

The superintendent of a rural district in Virginia recently sought help in developing his ideas for improving educational opportunities at a small school located on a mountain top. Fewer than 100 students attended the school, which served grades K-12.

At first, a colleague and I from the Appalachia Educational Laboratory, a nonprofit corporation under contract to the U.S. Department of Education to serve four Southeastern states, conducted a telephone conference call involving the superintendent and several other rural superintendents across the nation to discuss key issues and practices for meeting the needs of such a school. We then used results of the conversation to develop a questionnaire and conduct a national study of superintendents to find out how they coped with the same set of problems (rural area, small school, limited budget).

We identified several fiscal practices used by these districts to maximize resources available to the school. The practices included, in order of frequency, the following:

* Seeking bids and comparison pricing for all purchases.

Since they generally are not sought after by large suppliers, small school systems have a tendency to remain loyal to their current suppliers. Bidding generates substantial savings especially when all schools in the system consolidate their bids. Even greater savings may be generated when they combine their bids with other school systems.

Many regional and intermediate educational service agencies and some state departments of education provide this service. Suppliers are also very sensitive to comparison pricing.

* Paying all bills promptly where discounts are available.

Prompt payment generates a quick cash flow for vendors, and late payments are a cost factor of doing business. Some vendors provide a discount for ready payment. The district's finance office may have to obtain special permission from the governing boar to allow timely payments where discounts apply.

* Being aggressive in energy conservation measures.

Utilities are normally high cost area for smaller systems. Older facilities are often energy wasters. Start by asking school personnel and students to assist in energy conservation, lace timers on heating and cooling systems to eliminate high energy use when the buildings are not occupied. Require users of the facility after normal school hours to pay for actual energy costs.

Consider conducting an energy audit and developing a plan for becoming energy efficient. Many small school systems cannot readily afford to install energy-efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, proper insulation and thermal windows and doors.

* Joining a regional educational service agency or a consortium to provide special services and programs.

Regional educational service agencies may provide many cost-effective services such as sharing specialized personnel (speech therapists, psychologists, computer services, data management, professional development, purchasing) that often are required but not easily affordable by small systems. Forming consortiums to provide educational programs or to purchase needed services and goods makes educational and budgetary sense.

* Increasing the student count.

This might be accomplished by implementing all-day kindergarten or incentives to increase attendance at all levels. Since most states allocate funding on a per-pupil basis, increasing attendance generates more funds and provides more personnel for the schools. Having funds for an additional teacher in a small school is significant when assigning bus, lunchroom, playground, extracurricular and other personnel duties.