Financial impact

Damore said deconsolidating big school districts and consolidating small ones were both popular ways to save money when funding is tight.

In fact, part of the reason the Lincy report examined the deconsolidation issue is because Nevada is nearly $2 billion under the funding level considered adequate to meet the state’s educational needs — a fact the report attributes to the state economy’s lack of diversity and narrow tax base.

“The reality is that Nevada is unlikely to fund K-12 education at the (adequate level) anytime soon,” the report reads. “Thus ... policymakers should also examine reforms to the governance and organization of Nevada’s K-12 educational structures.”

A popular retort by CCSD has been that the district benefited from an economy of scale, in which operating costs were lower due to the district’s existing infrastructure.

CCSD officials say breaking up the district would create a logistical nightmare in areas such as zoning and transportation, but the Lincy report concluded large districts weren’t necessarily cheaper to operate than small ones.

Damore also said smaller districts could better leverage federal grant money for the state. Nevada is one of the least effective states at attracting outside education funding, according to the Lincy report.

“If you have more local control, (districts) are going to be much more creative about how they go about doing it,” Damore said.

Past research has shown