A teacher, legislator, and statesman, David N. Cox (1954-2022), was trying to find a way to help public education in Utah thrive in the 1990s. He noticed a pattern that when organizations, companies, schools, and school districts grew too large, they had a tendency to become disorganized, bureaucratic, and/or problematic. For the rest of his life, he dedicated himself to researching and advocating for creating smaller schools, dividing big districts, and opposing consolidations.
This site is dedicated to him and maintained by those who continue to influence public policy to bring education closer to students, parents, and teachers.
“The way to have good and safe government is not trust it all to one, but to divide it among the many, distributing to everyone exactly the functions in which he is competent.”
Thomas Jefferson
"Why does smaller seem to work better? ...people seem to learn, to change, and to grow in situations in which they feel they have some control, some personal influence, some efficacy. Those situations in which parents, teachers, and students are bonded together in the pursuit of learning are likely to be the most productive."
- From ‘Size, The Ultimate Educational Issue?’ by Barney M. Berlin, Robert C. Cienkus, Loyola University of Chicago
“School district size has a consistent negative relation to student performance.”
W. Nishkanen & M. Levy, University of California, Berkeley
“Local and independent school systems … are more responsive to the needs and wishes of the parents and the community. The door to the school superintendent’s office is usually open to any parent who wishes to make his views known.”
Ezra T. Benson
"Webb & Ohm (1984) found smaller districts more efficient than larger ones in both dollars per student and numbers of administrators per student...."
- From ‘A District of a Certain Size, An Exploration of the Debate on School District Size’ by Florence R. Webb University of California, Berkeley
“Men … should do their actual living and working in communities … small enough to permit of genuine self-government and the assumption of personal responsibilities, federated into larger units in such a way that the temptation to abuse great power should not arise.”
Mahatma Mohandas K. Gandhi
"But it appears that smaller districts on average may be more effective and efficient: Their students appear to score higher on standardized tests (other things being equal) and they may be more satisfying to parents and citizens." - From ‘District Size and Student Learning’, by Herbert J. Walberg - University of Illinois at Chicago
“As school systems across the country struggle with questions of testing, quality and accountability, they need to look at school district size as a variable.”
Mike Antonucci
"Strang (1987) documented the rising power of state bureaucracy and the decline of local autonomy even as districts grew larger. He saw the transformation of U.S. education from informal community control into large-scale bureaucratic organization stemming in part from the expansionary role of the states."
- From ‘District Size and Student Learning’, by Herbert J. Walberg - University of Illinois at Chicago
“Generally, there is agreement that unit costs are higher in the smallest and largest schools. Various studies characterize per-pupil costs as having a U-shaped average cost curve, where costs are high in both the smallest and largest schools.”
From ‘School Size, The Continuing Controversy’ by Kent McGuire, Education Commission of the States
"But it appears that smaller districts on average may be more effective and efficient: Their students appear to score higher on standardized tests (other things being equal) and they may be more satisfying to parents and citizens."
- Fron ‘District Size and Student Learning’, by Herbert J. Walberg, University of Illinois at Chicago.
“School district size has a consistent negative
W. Nishkanen & M. Levy, University
relation to student performance.”
of California, Berkeley
"Generally, it appears that the smaller the district, the higher the achievement when the socioeconomic status and per student expenditures are taken into account. Why? Superintendent and central staff awareness of citizen and parent preferences, the absence of bureaucratic layers and administrative complexity, teacher involvement in decision making, and close home/school relations."
- From ‘School and School District Size Relationships: Costs, Results, Minorities, and Private School Enrollments’, by Robert W. Jewell, University of Chicago.
Smaller Schools and Districts 