As of now, before any of the significant issues have been discussed, at least one of the school boards involved in the possible marriage of two Allegheny County school districts says it sounds like a good idea and there is nothing to be opposed to. That’s likely due to the fact that they are not yet down the road of talking about what a merged district would look like, what it could be called, what taxes would be levied and at what rates they would be imposed, what school buildings would be utilized, how many teachers and administrators would be needed, etc.
As we pointed out in a 2013 Brief, the most recent voluntary merger of two districts in Pennsylvania happened in 2009 and there was enough data to see that the merger produced some savings, but they were not “overwhelming”. Still, given economic considerations we noted that there ought to be a push by the General Assembly to provide incentives for merging, especially for districts that are struggling. The present case of Moon and Cornell shows districts that are not struggling (but the idea came about when Moon suggested closing an elementary school after lying dormant since the turn of the century) but want to explore the concept. Will it go past the initial round of talks and provide an impetus for other districts to talk to one another?
