Other views: School districts wisely working together

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The move toward more collaboration among the big three metro-area school districts is good news for taxpayers and students. Last week superintendents from West Fargo, Moorhead and Fargo said they will ramp up cooperation to reduce dropout rates in the three school districts. A total of about 400 students quit school in the three districts each year. School administrators and school board members reaffirmed they are ready to work together to reduce that number.

The collaborative process got its start last year when superintendents and the United Way of Cass Clay focused on the problem. The United Way and the three districts will develop and jointly support programs to help students get off the path to dropping out.

While the dropout prevention program is among the higher-profile cooperative efforts, it’s not the only one. The districts (either two or three) have worked together on various programs for years on purchasing, transportation, etc. But the renewed effort not only looks to keep students in school, but also aims to develop curricula that can benefit students in all three school districts.

For example, an effort led by North Dakota State University’s Research and Technology Park seeks to provide entrepreneurship opportunities and education for eighth- and ninth-graders. The three superintendents have been asked to continue their support for the program. A mentoring program associated with entrepreneurial studies got started last fall with 10 local business leaders, but the program is expected to really start moving this summer. The two-year pilot program will conduct a weeklong entrepreneurship academy this summer for 30 Moorhead, West Fargo and Fargo students.

Collaboration among the districts won’t stop with the entrepreneurship program, school board members said. There is potential for cooperation in many areas, many of them not yet fully investigated.

The goodwill among the districts is welcome. It’s a healthier, less confrontational approach to district relations than talk of Fargo and West Fargo consolidation. School officials discussed merger in the 1990s, but no one really expected anything to come of it. The neighboring districts value their separate identities. Both districts are strong. Bringing Moorhead more actively into collaborations can make all three districts more responsive to the needs of students and taxpayers.

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