District Schools

Evolvement of School Districts

Local control of schools was the epitome of school organization in the 18th century as the country colonized. Parents and communities were responsible for funding and operating schools, and in urban areas, charity schools offered education. During the 19th century, states had established permanent funding of schools, but distribution and amount varied widely; communities were the mainstay of schooling. Settlers moved westward, developed communities in frontier lands, and then offered schooling to the community's students. As new states developed and communities emerged, the one “little red schoolhouse” was the sole interest of an individual school district. As communities flourished and increased in numbers, so did the number of school districts; the result was thousands of individual districts in the United States. The state constitutional provision for schooling accompanied the common school movement of the 1830s but was minimally regulatory. Most state involvement merely encouraged communities by legislating local taxes for schools and providing initial funding for starting schools. In the late 19th century, states gradually initiated standards, such as textbooks, teacher certification, achievement, and high school accreditation, but efforts at establishment were severely limited. State superintendent offices were established with responsibility and authority for inspection of local school districts.

As one century rolled into the next, states were contributing more dollars to local districts in support of schooling, and efforts were in place to ensure greater standardization. Fiscal support was increasingly linked to efforts to comply with state standards and was often a specific sum per number [Page 280]of students enrolled and was not substantial when compared to total costs of schooling. Nancy Beadie iterates that organizational structure became more complex as states implemented legislative mandates, expectations, and restrictions. In response, local districts, particularly rural districts, exhibited strong resistance and, in some cases, organized politically to avert compliance. In the early 20th century, scholars, such as Ellwood Cubberley, Henry Morrison, Harlan Updegraff, and Paul Mort, offered theories about joint funding mechanisms between local districts and state interests, and conflicts over control of education between local districts and state agencies exacerbated. The Depression years produced greater state regulations and demands from communities and teachers to increase state support for schools. By the mid-20th century, consolidation of districts and influence of state authority had emerged.

...