Is Bigger Best in Education?

Given the choice, would you prefer your child graduate with 350 students or 680? Given the choice would you choose a high school with 1400 students in its halls or 2700?  Commack School District is quite large. We span multiple towns and a vast geography.  Managing bigger is more difficult than managing smaller. This conversation is about  building a community, and the personalization versus institutionalization of education. I suggest greater numbers lend to a depersonalized educational experience, and enables a certain degree of anonymity for students.

 Guidance counselors in the high school are assigned 200 students!
We have graduating classes of near 700. Is this good for students?  Is the alternative better? With the massive cuts we have endured these last 7 years, the timing is right to consider how best to reconstruct the system.

It appears the "back-office" savings are  not great enough to not consider going back to a North and South, i.e. the multiple Asst Supts.; multiple asst Principals, etc. For 10 years Commack has been a leader in Supt.  compensation, in part due to the large student population.  ( There's a greater pool of Supts. available that can manage a medium sized district.)

The net result is that it will cost more to run 2 districts. The important question is, how much more will it cost and is there enough benefit to dig a little deeper into your pocket to improve on what we have now?  Can Commack voters make this decision or does Albany have a say? While I don't have the answers, I think this is a  worthwhile conversation to have. 

The biggest benefit is in creation of communities that makes sense. A recent thread about a stabbing at Indian Hollow, and the discussion about how to protect our kids immediately caused me to consider an alternative to Commack University and the massive district we are part of.  The reason being, is that it is easier to effect change in a small group than a large one.  ( BTW, I do not put blame on the school system for the attack.) 

 Getting the student population back down to more manageable numbers is another huge benefit.  Students might agree that 40 minutes on a bus is just too darn much time. Not driving 7 miles for a play date is another.  I would argue less is better than more, in education.  Is restoring a more personal touch valuable to the educational experience?  I think it matters that a principal knows students names. This creates accountability, and a relationship.  The upside for athletes is, you would now have almost twice as many opportunities to play on a team.  Why is that not a good thing.

 I am stuck on trying to come up with the "pros" to maintaining status quo.
 I am hopeful some folks have already reviewed this and have some facts on the matter.
-george morgan