A Republican legislator in Kansas has outlined a proposal to cut the number of local public school districts in the state by more than half.
Rep. John Bradford of Lansing said the plan he introduced Wednesday would leave the state with 132 school districts instead of the current 286. Ninety-nine of the state's 105 counties would have only one district.
Bradford said the state can achieve significant savings by reorganizing school districts because there would be fewer administrators and administrative buildings. He said the plan would not close individual schools.
Some fellow Republicans said they are interested in looking at how local school districts can operate more efficiently.
But Kansas Association of School Boards lobbyist Mark Tallman said there's no evidence that Kansas residents want to consolidate districts.
