Topeka ? School districts would have a financial incentive to consolidate with their neighbors under a bill approved by the House and sent to the Senate on Monday.

The measure provides that when two districts merge, their state aid for three years would equal the combined total of what each received before the consolidation.

Currently, the state provides extra money to its smallest school districts, and two small districts can receive more money separately than if they were combined into one larger district.

House Education Committee Chairman Ralph Tanner said the bill would provide “a window of opportunity” for districts that may have been reluctant to consider consolidating.

“It’s the first nod toward a financial incentive that tries to persuade school districts that are experiencing declining enrollment to take the initiative to merge with their neighboring districts,” said Tanner, R-Baldwin.

The bill, approved by an 87-32 vote, had been worked out by House and Senate negotiators. Senate approval would send it to the governor.

When the Senate would consider the bill was uncertain. Monday was the 103rd day of the session, with the issue of raising taxes to deal with budget problems yet unresolved. Lacking issues to debate, most senators were not in the Statehouse but were on call.

School consolidation has become a more vital topic in recent years as enrollments have declined in some districts.

Last fall, the Kansas Board of Education approved the disorganization of the West Graham-Moreland district in north-central Kansas. It became the first school district to dissolve since Lebanon, also in north-central Kansas, did so in 1983.

Kansas spends about $2.3 billion on elementary and secondary education, or $3,870 per pupil. Districts with declining enrollment receive extra state aid, but administrators say the compensation does not cover the aid they lose from falling enrollment.

The bill was a product of legislative discussions following last year’s of a study that analyzed districts’ academic and financial efficiency and identified potential candidates for mergers.

Tanner said legislators resisted forcing districts to consolidate because of the lingering sting of state-mandated mergers in the 1960s.

“This is a bottom-up as opposed to a top-down approach,” Tanner said.

During the debate, Rep. Dan Williams, R-Olathe, urged lawmakers to vote for the bill and said it should appeal to fiscal conservatives.

“This will actually save the state money down the road,” Williams said.

But Rep. Bill Reardon, D-Kansas City, worried that the bill offered too many incentives for school districts.

“We are offering more incentives than necessary to encourage consolidation of districts,” Reardon said.

The school consolidation bill is SB 551.