Bismarck Tribune - Bismarck News - Creating more power for school districts

Creating more power for school districts

The Rev. Rob Schenck, president of Faith and Action, speaks outside the Supreme Court. (AP)

Jun 26, 2005 - 23:16:05 CDT

By KAYLA COGDILL, Bismarck Tribune

As more teachers become eligible to retire, student enrollment drops and the No Child Left Behind act toughens requirements, many rural schools can't provide students with the resources they need.

To overcome some of these obstacles, 47 school districts on the eastern part of the state are establishing two joint powers agreements to combine their resources. Today, 25 school districts in the northeast part of the state will form the Red River Valley Education Cooperative. Next month, 22 school districts in the southeast part of the state will form the South East Education Cooperative.

Joint powers agreements, often referred to as cooperatives, allow schools to pool their resources to provide programs they couldn't otherwise offer or afford. Each district is still able to remain separate.

During this year's legislative session, lawmakers set aside $2 million for schools to form such agreements. Each school district must pay the Department of Public Instruction $1,000 annually to be in a JPA. This year state funds will reimburse the schools.

Currently there are five established JPAs.

"We need a reliable system of support services that are long term and reliable to provide quality education for students in North Dakota," said Tom Decker, school finance and organization director at the Department of Public Instruction.

Decker argues that things haven't changed over the years for small schools in the state. "Of course now there are computers and other technology, but schools don't prep students for college and students have to go to intermediate colleges to get caught up on certain classes. When students have strong classes and strong teachers they are better prepared," he said.

Some lawmakers aren't fond of the JPA. They think the agreements will consolidate the schools or just add another layer of bureaucracy.

"By the time schools consolidate there is no solution for anything. Most schools wait too long before making anything happen," Decker said.

He estimates that 90 percent of the public school enrollment will be a part of a JPA by this September.

The JPA requires participating school districts to maintain a joint operating fund and share various administrative functions and student services. During the first two years of the JPA, each of the participating school districts have to share at least two administrative functions and two student services selected by all the districts. During the third and fourth year there needs to be three functions and services. During the fifth year and every year after that, participating school districts must share at least five functions and services.

Some of the most popular administrative functions include staff development, grant writing and technology support. Some student services that can benefit rural schools are dual credit classes, foreign language classes, advancement placement classes and distance learning classes.

Keith Arneson, JPA lead administrator for the North East Education Services Cooperative, said the districts have been able to make "leaps and bounds" forward to provide services to students and save the district money. The co-op was able to hire a technology coordinator, something many of the schools wouldn't have been to do financially on their own.

Two other JPAs in the making are in the northwestern corner and in the north-central part of the state.

(Reach reporter Kayla Cogdill at 250-8251 or kaylacogdill@bismarcktribune.net.)

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Comments

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PC of Mandan wrote on Dec 11, 2006 10:41 AM:

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Online Editor wrote on Nov 8, 2006 1:57 PM:

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just me wrote on Aug 5, 2006 2:29 PM:

" What do any of these comments have to do with placing the people who should not be in society in commitments to a state hospital? Why should they have a right to a chance at life when they took any kind of DECENT life of not looking over your shoulder from their victims? Why should they have 3 squares a day and a roof over their head either? I say put them all out on a little island and let them have at eachother for their own sick way or pleasure. Why put the rest of society in jeapordy of their sick ways? All these children who had their INNOCENTS STOLEN, they can never get that back. Why do the offenders have a chance to get theirs back? "

Brenda Coin wrote on Jul 12, 2006 9:51 PM:

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Dorothy Hendrickson Tenney wrote on Jul 6, 2006 1:58 PM:

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