Pennsylvania State Rep. Tom Quigley, R- 146th Dist., brought the House Republican Policy Committee to Pottstown this week for a hearing on Gov. Ed Rendell's proposal to consolidate most of Pennsylvania's 500 school districts.

Three area school district administrators, the head of the commonwealth's largest teachers' union and a consultant who has worked throughout state government and now advocates for cyber charter schools testified before the committee during the hearing at Montgomery County Community College.

Consultant Greg White told the committee that between 1984 and 2006, the consumer price index increased 106 percent; median family income by 147 percent but total expenditures for school districts by 357 percent.

White said the current model for public education is trying to use 19th and 20th century methods to prepare students for the 21st century and that the existing system will resist change and adaptation because "it makes life more difficult for the incumbent leaders."

Despite runaway spending on public education, the education establishment is opposed to consolidation. No surprise there. The more school districts you have, the more high-paying jobs for school administrators.

Read the full story in today's edition of The Pottstown Mercury.