The (False) Hope of School District Consolidation

Another article on school consolidation, this one from the Mackinac Center. The findings in this report run pretty much in line with previous articles written by them on this subject. What I am (very) skeptical about is their statement that charters are "more efficient" because their per pupil expenditures are lower. There is a reason for this. Charter schools focus on the "inexpensive to educate" student population primarily "regular ed" elementary students. The more expensive instructional areas - high schools, athletics and special education - have been left for the public schools to provide. Lower cost does not equate to greater efficiency.