The quest for cheaper, better

May 2005 • Volume 3 • Issue 2

Across the nation, school board members and superintendents are scrambling for creative ways to stretch tax dollars and accelerate student achievement.

A persistent idea gaining renewed momentum is that districts combine resources. Efficiency experts cite “economies of scale” that result when the scope of an operation is expanded but overhead costs do not change, or change little. Applied to schools, that can mean a service is supplied to more students without a corresponding increase in costs. It can also make new learning opportunities possible.