Beaufort County lawmakers who propose splitting the school district in two may want to await the outcome of legislation seeking an analysis of the merits of consolidation.

Several school board members and state legislators said in November that they want to take a look at whether splitting the school district would financially benefit the county. Districts in Beaufort and Charleston counties stood to lose about $14 million this year in education funding without a one-time appropriation by the legislature. Another one-time appropriation may be necessary next year.

Local officials reason that if the Beaufort district splits, the south part wouldn't receive money from the state because it's wealthy and has a solid property-tax base. But the north county would get state funds because it's not nearly as wealthy. The south-district would save money by not having to help fund north-county schools, and north county schools would receive more state funds.

On the surface, the public officials may see the state allocation for education as a reason to split the district, but that would be a simplistic approach.

According to The Associated Press, a bill introduced last week with bipartisan support calls for the Education Oversight Committee to study the optimum size of school districts and recommend by mid-December how to reorganize the state's 85 districts. A suggestion by House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R- Charleston, would restrict districts to no more than 20,000 students. The proposal, co-sponsored by nearly 40 House members, would not allow lawmakers to amend the report before an up-or-down vote next session.

Even though a 3-year-old study requested by legislators, "School District Organization in South Carolina: Evaluating Performance and Fiscal Efficiency," suggests that smaller school districts may be more efficient and see higher student performance, it also suggests that this, too, may be an over-simplistic assumption.

All facets of this issue should be discussed before anyone makes a decision to proceed. Much is at stake for many people.

For starters, the socioeconomic distribution could create a district that doesn't fully serve the people of the county. More poverty exists in northern Beaufort County than in the southern portion of the county. Splitting the district could create another less-wealthy district. Already five of the six worst-performing schools in the district are in northern Beaufort County.

A 2004 Legislative Audit Council study cautions against optimism for saving in consolidating school districts, but splitting school districts would certainly increase the administrative cost beyond a single district.

Reducing the state's 85 school districts to one for each of the state's 46 counties would be a worthwhile endeavor for the Education Oversight Committee to study because it could reduce administrative costs and streamline the school-aid process that is the basis for local officials' scrutiny.

A resolution of the school-funding issue should come from the legislature, but it shouldn't be examined piecemeal. A thorough examination seems to be part of the basis for the examination lawmakers seek in this proposed Education Oversight Committee study.

This is a complex issue. A simple answer is elusive. That is all the more reason to proceed with caution. A solution should be a winning combination for all state students.