An evaluative study of the prospective consolidation of business office services in selected small and rural Michigan public schools

This study focuses on consolidation and whether economies of size and scale can be achieved when two or more small and rural school districts in Michigan consolidate business office services. A brief history of Michigan's public school funding is followed by a review of consolidation research, and the current shared service agreements in place in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Descriptive data were gathered from official state reports and a comparison of survey responses from two groups of superintendents in Michigan. One group was from an area of small, rural school districts generally bordered by Ohio, Indiana, or Lake Erie. The second group of superintendents surveyed included all school districts in the southern peninsula of Michigan with a student enrollment of 1,500 or less. Survey questions related to four research questions: Will a shared business office service agreement result in an effective and efficient use of resources? Will a shared business office service agreement result in effective and efficient data collection? Will a shared business office service agreement result in effective and efficient reporting techniques? Will a shared business office service agreement improve upon the fiscal policies and procedures in order to maximize accountability? Although the two groups of superintendents offered mixed responses, the findings did demonstrate that a shared service agreement resulted in effective and efficient uses of resources. The primary difference in responses was related to whether the partner of the shared business office service was another local school district or an intermediate school district. The survey responses demonstrated that a shared business office agreement can be tailored to meet individual school district needs. Further research should be conducted to examine the decision making process of a shared service agreement, and to examine both successful shared service agreements and those that have been unsuccessful. Finally, the long term effects and sustainability of the shared service agreement offers opportunities for further investigation.