Push for district consolidation questioned

More than a dozen states - including Maine and Vermont - have seriously considered or already carried out plans for fewer, larger school districts. Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts made consolidation a top priority when he announced his comprehensive education reform agenda last year. Reducing the number of districts will improve the quality of education, he has said. Virtually every district in the state is a candidate for consolidation if it's determined that merging with another district would benefit its academic performance. But research shows that consolidation does not improve schools or lead to better academic results. Read The Boston Globe article.

RELATED: In an effort to save money, Sudbury (Mass.) officials are looking into putting the local kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school system and the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School under one superintendent. Read The Boston Globe article.