Three area school districts in need of building renovation or expansion are taking very tentative steps toward consolidation — a touchy topic for residents worried about losing a community's identity.

The Belleville, Monticello and New Glarus school districts, located in Dane and Green counties, are asking the state Department of Public Instruction for $10,000 to study the idea of combining their programs and student populations.

"I think it's just a case of having a nice discussion and getting solid, objective information," said Randy Freese, superintendent for the Belleville School District.

Facing continued tight budgets, districts around the state will be looking at options to save money, and "investigating consolidation is definitely one of those options," said Patrick Gasper, DPI spokesman. "I think we'll see more people looking into it."

Using money approved as part of the 2007-09 state budget, the DPI has funded grants for at least eight other district groups, including Pecatonica and Argyle in Lafayette and Iowa counties.

Applying for the money "doesn't hold any district to consolidation," said Elizabeth Kane, associate director of school management services for the DPI.

Kane said two districts in the state — Glidden and Park Falls in northern Wisconsin — will consolidate July 1. But historically, district mergers don't happen too often, she said.

"In the study, they may be looking at all kinds of options," Kane said, for example, looking at whether only two districts should merge instead of three.

Local residents often have worries about consolidating schools, which could mean a loss of some local control and dramatic changes in everything from bus routes to school sizes.

Miles Turner, executive director for the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators, said consolidation talks are becoming more common in northern Wisconsin districts struggling with declining enrollment.

And while consolidation makes sense for some districts, other changes — such as improving online class offerings — could improve the quality of education for rural districts, he said.

It's possible the pending federal economic stimulus package will provide funds so rural districts could improve Internet connections and offer more online programs and possible staff savings, Turner said.

"The state needs to look at connectivity and technology as a survival mode for some districts," he said.

A consolidated high school, for example, for Belleville, Monticello and New Glarus could easily be 800 to 1,000 students.

That would be quite a change considering the entire Belleville district comprises almost 1,000 students, Freese said.

The study, however, would answer a lot of questions such as, "Can you still end up with quality programs and save the taxpayer money or not?" said Barbara Thompson, administrator for the New Glarus School District.

Make sense to merge?

Concerns over declining enrollment — which can typically lead districts to consider merging — isn't the main problem for Belleville, Monticello and New Glarus.

Instead, it's about deciding whether it makes sense, for example, to merge the districts' middle or high schools as opposed to each district spending money to expand its own, Freese said.

"Certainly, the other issue is just duplication of services (and) duplication of building costs," he said. "In today's world, you can spend $20 million in a hurry."

Of the three districts, only Monticello is projected to have no increase in its enrollment by 2013. Administrator Karen Ballin said the district also is worried about how it will fare under state-imposed revenue caps.

"We are locked into a system where costs are increasing faster than revenue, and that is not likely to change," she said.

Working together is nothing new for the districts, which already share a number of cooperative athletic programs.

Cooperating with the district also could allow for more elective or advanced placement classes, said Chris Bowie, New Glarus School Board president.

One of the challenges in being a smaller district is not having enough students to justify paying a teacher for a specific class, he said. If the funding is approved, the districts hope to have results from the study by this summer.

"At least we'll know," Freese said. "Who knows? The numbers may come out and there's no advantage or disadvantage (of consolidation)."