What Every Policy Maker, School Leader, Parent, and Community Member Needs to Know About the Social, Economic, and Human Capital Costs of Closing a Rural School: A Comprehensive Multi-faceted Investigation

The purpose of this comprehensive multi-faceted research investigation was to collect evidence from various sources related to the impact of school building closings on rural communities. The researcher employed quantitative, qualitative, and US Census data analysis to collect information and comprehensively evaluate the impact of school closings or consolidations upon 12 different communities in New York State. The researcher developed a quantitative survey instrument that was employed by a third party professional research company in conducting 220 telephone interviews with selected population samples in rural communities where schools were closed or consolidated. In addition, the researcher conducted intensive qualitative interviews with 13 informants representing those same 12 communities who provided their lived experiences and personal perceptions regarding school closing issues.;The researcher also analyzed census bureau data in two time periods: a) pre-school closing and b) post school closing; in order to evaluate the impact of school closings or consolidations in the same 12 designated rural communities with regard to demographic and community "quality of life" factors. The researcher comprehensively investigated and analyzed the impact of a specific school closing upon these community factors and the respective community population in the selected 12 rural communities since the presence of the local school often serves as the central focus, also referred to as the "glue", of small rural communities (Hyndman, Cleveland, & Huffman, 2010; Oncescu & Giles, 2012; Peshkin, 1982; Reynolds, 2013). The rural school is the center of the community and all of its components together form the ever-evolving open-social system of people, things, and ideas that contribute to the "quality of life" factors identified in the literature such as: 1) connectedness, 2) development of identity and culture, 3) ideology and politics, and 4) activism and civic engagement (Budge, 2009). This centricity aspect of the institution of education is consistent with the perspective that the American school is a continuously evolving human institution that is impacted by its context and impacts its context due to the interactions of key related social sub-systems (Polka, 2014; Polka & Guy, 2001; Von Bertalanffy, 1950; Weiner, 1948; Zeeillk, 1988).;Generally, the researcher concluded, based on the comprehensive findings of this investigation, that no matter which type of analysis is performed, school district mergers or reorganizations damage rural communities. And, as long as local and state policymakers perceive school district mergers or rural school closures as a way to fix their budget issues there will be friction between the local community members and the policy-makers.