A state lawmaker wants the state to study consolidation of its roughly 500 school districts.

Rep. Greg Scott, D-Norristown, is circulating a co-sponsorship memorandum for legislation he is drafting asking for legislative approval for the study. After a month, there have been no co-sponsors for the legislation. A resolution backing a school consolidation study was passed in the state House in 2016.

“Currently, our Commonwealth has a total of 500 school districts,” Scott wrote in his memorandum. “However, efforts to incentivize school districts to consolidate have been met with little success, with only one consolidation completed without astatutory requirement to do so. Costs for school districts and property taxes are only continuing to increase, requiring the General Assembly to act, which is why I am introducing legislation to create the School District Consolidation Study Commission to study and make recommendations related to the reorganization and consolidation of the current 500 school districts down to 100, similar to former Governor Ed Rendell’s 2009 proposal.”

School funding has been a hot topic this year in the state. A state court ruled in February that the state isn’t providing the education to some students that the state constitution entitles them. State House Democrats have tried to funnel more money into public education this year, going above Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s initial proposal. Republicans in the state Senate have countered with a more modest spending plan and are asking for a school voucher system that has been opposed by House Democrats.

In June, Warren County School District announced plans to transport grades nine to 12 Sheffield Area Middle High School students to Warren Area High School for the core courses of English Language Arts, math and science. The option allows Sheffield students to formally be students of Sheffield Area High School for purposes of class rank, graduation, athletics, and other activities.

The state budget — still unapproved — includes about $800 million for public education, significantly less than what Democrats wanted. The state’s poorest districts will split $100 million through a program designed to help them close some of the gap between them and more affluent districts, according to the Associated Press. The legislature has adjourned until September.

The court ruling left the legislature with the ability to consider alternatives to fairly fund schools. While much of the discussion has been focused on increasing funding, vouchers and tax credits, trying to spend more money on fewer districts could be considered a way to adhere to the court’s ruling.

Charter school funding has also been a sticking point in school aid budgeting talks.

“It is important that we explore the possibility of once again consolidating our school districts as the General Assembly has done in the past, in order to increase the efficiency and quality of our public schools,” Scott wrote. “Our children and the taxpayers deserve a school system that uses taxpayer money in an efficient manner to provide valuable education to its students.”