School District Consolidations

History of Consolidation

In 1963, the Minnesota Legislature required the territorial merger of nonoperating school districts—districts that had no educational facilities and transported students to another district—with districts that operated a school. In 1967, the legislature determined that a school district should have both an elementary and a secondary program. Districts that did not operate a secondary school were given until 1971 to merge with a district that provided K-12 education. During the 1970-71 school year, all but three of the 446 school districts had a full elementary and secondary program.

By the end of the 1970s, some school districts, faced with declining enrollments and decreasing financial support, looked for ways to increase educational opportunities for students, increase efficiency, and yet preserve the local school district. Beginning in 1977, the legislature responded by giving specific districts the authority for a paired arrangement to provide educational services. Within two years, the legislature extended the pairing authority to all districts. Since 1979, the legislature has authorized and funded programs to encourage inter-district cooperation and consolidation of districts.

Consolidation Tables

The tables below list consolidated school districts and are linked to tables for each district. That information includes:

• member district information including selected pre-consolidation enrollment and financial information for the 1989-90 school year;
• consolidated school district information for the 1997-98 school year that is comparable to the member district information for the 1989-90 school year;
• regional information on enrollment and school finances for the 1989-90 school year and the 1997-98 school year for the region containing the consolidated district; and
• demographic information on the individual and the consolidated school districts from the 1990 census of population.