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New Report Calls Arkansas Consolidation Debate 'Wasteful' "Get to the Things That Matter," Urges Rural School Advocacy Group Small school districts in Arkansas accomplish more with less money in more difficult circumstances than do large districts, according to a new report released today by the Rural School and Community Trust (Rural Trust), a nonprofit advocacy group for rural schools. The report found that small districts have a higher proportion of students in poverty and a much smaller property tax base, and spend less per student than large districts. Despite their high poverty and low wealth, however, these small districts have a smaller percentage of students who score below the basic achievement level on the state's academic tests and they graduate a higher percentage of students than do the large districts.  The report's conclusion: Arkansas is wasting time on the consolidation debate, and should focus instead on the problems that matter most to the state's schoolchildren: poverty, the persistent effects of racial discrimination, and a school funding system whose inequities and inadequacies exacerbate those problems.
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