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Abstract
The purpose of the study was to summarize the historical background, or setting, of school reorganization in Nebraska, and to ascertain the perceptions of school board presidents in rural areas regarding school reorganization. The sample included 200 school board presidents from K-8 (Class I) school districts in which reorganization had not taken place and 52 rural K-12 school board presidents which had experienced reorganization during the years 1980 to 1985.
After review of pertinent literature, an 18-item questionnaire was developed and distributed to the respondents in the study. In order to determine if there were significant differences between the perceptions of the K-8 school board presidents and the K-12 school board presidents, the null hypotheses formulated for the study were tested by use of a critical ratio or t-test.
The findings of the study included: (1) Legal procedures for the development of reorganized school districts have been clearly outlined by the Nebraska Legislature. (2) The K-8 school board presidents perceived that parents would have less control over their children's education if reorganization took place and that consolidation would result in a loss of local control, whereas K-12 school board presidents indicated reorganization did not result in loss of local control. (3) Board presidents from K-8 and K-12 school districts disagreed about the advantages and disadvantages of school district reorganization. Presidents of K-8 districts did not feel reorganization was a priority, while K-12 presidents strongly agreed that reorganization of public schools should be a priority.
