Illinois Panel Says School Mergers Aren't Necessary

An Illinois state commission studying education spending says school districts can save hundreds of millions of dollars without being forced to consolidate.  The Classrooms First Commission claims districts could save up to $1 billion simply by studying each other's budgets to find new ideas for cutting costs.  The panel plans to review the tentative proposals today before a period of public comment.  Governor Pat Quinn has called for merging the state's smaller districts. But the commission says its consensus is that forced consolidation would cost the state huge amounts of money.