Pennsylvania has too many school districts. The Commonwealth’s 500 administrative divisions introduce unnecessary and expensive bureaucratic duplication, while small districts struggle to fulfill the requirements of providing a contemporary education, a problem compounded by the state’s teacher shortage.

As recently as the 1960s, Pennsylvania actually had more than 2,500 school districts, until the state encouraged waves of consolidation. By 1981, that figure was down to 501.

But in the last 44 years, only one district merger has occurred: Center and Monaca in suburban Beaver County, forming Central Valley. This glacial pace of change since the 1980s is wildly out of step with the major demographic and economic changes during the same period. It’s time to consider a comprehensive restruc

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