For some students, a school merger means leaving behind a school in the neighborhood and being bused across town to a different place. This can present a problem to parents who have to get the kids up earlier and out the door to meet the bus that will arrive to get the children far earlier than before. It can also present a challenge to school districts who must now pay for this busing, a cost that could be substantial.
Often, when schools merge, the students are placed into a large school setting with a sizable number of fellow students. This can have implications on student learning. With more students packed into the school, students may feel less like valued members of the school community and more like small and inconsequential individuals. This can also mean less one-on-one attention for students, which could have a negative impact on the overall academic performance.
For many students and parents, a school merger means unwanted change. Some parents go to great lengths to ensure that students do not have to switch schools, planning moves around changes in school buildings. When a school merger takes place, this change is unavoidable. Many students are forced to uproot from the settings in which the students were comfortable and start new in an unfamiliar building.
A school is more than just a place to learn, it is part of an identity. Students who attend a school identify as members of that group, identifying the school by the mascot name and proudly wearing the school colors. When students are forced to merge with students of another school, the identity of which students may have been so proud is lost.