New law sparks debate over Illinois school mergers, communities fear
loss
[August 28, 2025]
By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributor
(The Center Square) – A new law that could push school districts to
study possible consolidation, aiming for efficiency and savings, but
critics warn it could threaten local control.
House Bill 2966 creates a state grant program, through the Illinois
State Board of Education, for districts to study potential
reorganization, but former Republican state Rep. Jim Nowlan doubts it
will drive much change given communities’ strong ties to their schools.
"The tiny community of Ohio, north of Princeton, recently voted on
whether to consolidate its 20-student high school with a neighboring
school and the measure was rejected,” Nowlan told The Center Square.
“This illustrates the strong feelings people have about their local
schools. Many believe that losing the school would mean losing the
vitality of their community, which often outweighs what outsiders might
see as rational consolidation."
Nowlan noted that consolidation can make sense in some cases, like in La
Salle County, where seven or more grade school districts feed into La
Salle-Peru High School, but the issue is often highly emotional.
“It makes little sense for there to be eight school districts in that
situation,” Nowlan said. “You have eight school superintendents, and you
have different pedagogy across the respective school districts. So the
kids may come into the freshman year with different foundations of
education”
HB 2966 passed unanimously out of the House and Senate.
Proponents of the new law argue that overlapping administrative
structures cost taxpayers millions, and that grants to study potential
mergers could highlight opportunities for efficiency. But Nowlan
cautioned that financial savings from consolidation are not guaranteed.
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Alan Wooten | The Center Square
"I think many of the savings would be illusory. You might save by
cutting some superintendents, but in my research on consolidating
municipalities and other local governments, I found that savings
often didn’t materialize,” said Nowlan. “Consolidation usually
wouldn’t move forward unless employees were guaranteed salaries at
least equal to the highest-paying district involved."
Instead of focusing on forced restructuring, Nowlan suggested
Illinois should look at ways to improve education directly.
“The key to successful education is not the number of school
districts, but the vision of the school boards, which are elected,
and their school leadership,” he said. “You can have great small
schools, and you can have great big schools, and the reverse.”
He also pointed to alternatives like open enrollment, already used
in Iowa, which allows students to attend schools outside their home
district with funding following the child.
“For example, a child with musical talent can enroll in a
neighboring district with a strong music program, or another student
could join a school with an excellent [Future Farmers of America]
program. I wish Illinois would consider open enrollment, since it
also encourages healthy competition among schools,” said Nowlan.
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