State Board outlines five-part framework to identify schools "small by necessity" under Act 73

Summary

The State Board of Education presented a five-criteria framework to guide legislative or rule determinations about which small or sparsely populated schools qualify for supplemental funding under Act 73, emphasizing travel-time, safety, consolidation feasibility, demographic trajectory and fiscal impact.

The State Board of Education on Jan. 28 presented a recommended framework to the Legislature for deciding when a school that meets statutory size or sparsity thresholds should be deemed "small by necessity" and therefore eligible for supplemental state funding under Act 73. Jennifer Deck Samuelson, chair of the State Board of Education, introduced the board's vice chair, Tammy Colby, who led the presentation.

Colby said the board’s special committee — which met five times in 2025 and held a public listening session on Nov. 7, 2025 — produced a five-part set of criteria intended to distinguish schools that are small or sparse because of unavoidable geography or demographics from schools that are small for local policy reasons. "We defined ‘by necessity’ broadly as a condition driven by unavoidable demographic or geographic circumstances," Colby said, noting the board unanimously adopted the recommendations at its December meeting.

The proposed criteria are: average one-way travel-time thresholds (proposed averages: 45 minutes for…

State Board outlines five-part framework to identify schools "small by necessity" under Act 73

Summary

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