Families and teachers protested. Some students had bus rides so long that they couldn’t participate in sports and other after-school activities. A 2022 study found that the mergers had accelerated depopulation in rural communities and depressed property values; that same year another study found almost no academic gains.
“I think we should be cautious about recommending school consolidation,” said Josh McGee, an economist at the University of Arkansas and a co-author of both the new cost analysis and the earlier study of academic outcomes. “I think the potential benefits have not materialized as envisioned and there are real potential harms.”