ESCONDIDO -- The high school district will consider tonight whether to study pros and cons of merging with the elementary district and the tiny San Pasqual district, although officials in those districts seem lukewarm to downright cold about the idea.

The topic is hot among residents, said board member Charlie Snowder, who has proposed the district launch a study, at a possible cost of $35,000, on whether the districts should join to provide kindergarten through 12th grade.

"The community is always, constantly, bringing up this subject," Snowder said.

The Escondido Union High School District operates five high schools, including three traditional campuses and two alternative schools, with a total of 7,600 students. The Escondido Union School District runs 15 elementary schools and four middle schools with a total of 19,400 students.

The San Pasqual Union School District serves 568 students at one K-8 school. San Pasqual's high school students often attend Orange Glen and San Pasqual high schools, both run by the Escondido high school district, or the Escondido Charter High School.

George McClure, president of San Pasqual Union's school board, said that although trustees have not discussed the possibility of the study, he had already formed an opinion.

"No matter what happens, our chief aim is to retain our autonomy at San Pasqual Elementary School," McClure said. "We're small, we can be innovative, we can do things that are not possible to do in a larger district, and we do not want to be submerged in a larger district that would result in the unification of the two districts in Escondido."

Snowder, who confirmed last month that he plans to run for re-election in November, said at that time that reunification was an issue voters are interested in.

"I believe it is a good time to do it," he said of the study, noting that his district is in the preliminary stages of planning its fourth comprehensive high school and that the district is in a different position than it was 14 years ago, when a similar study was done.

A 1990 report concluded that it was feasible for the elementary and high school districts to join, but only under specific conditions. The report stated that a high school would need to be built in Valley Center and a separate Valley Center school district formed.

Valley Center High School opened in 1998 and a new Valley Center-Pauma Unified School District was created two years later.

Snowder said he didn't know what a new study might conclude, but that the research needs to be done.

David Hughes, superintendent of the high school district, said the issue was put on the agenda at Snowder's request, and it is a subject that "comes up from time to time."

"We haven't had a study done in a number of years, so it makes sense to at least find out whether a unification is feasible or not so that when people ask us these questions we can give them answers based on information," Hughes said.

If high school district trustees authorize a study, they will ask the other districts to share in the cost.

For the most part, officials at the Escondido elementary and San Pasqual Union school districts on Monday were unenthusiastic about unifying, nor were they inclined to help pay for the $35,000 study.

"We just don't have the bucks," said McClure, the San Pasqual trustee.

Escondido Union elementary school board president Zoe Carpenter said she doesn't think unification would be a good idea, in part because she feels the districts have different focuses.

"I think the elementary district is making great strides and moving forward," Carpenter said. "The continuity of curriculum is there and improving, our focus is on the standardized tests and (The) No Child Left Behind (Act of 2001), whereas the high schools' focus is on the high school exit exam."

Mike Caston, superintendent of the Escondido elementary district, said he was cautious about unification.

"We are already a big district, and in public education, bigger does not always mean better," Caston said, noting this was his opinion and did not represent his school board's views. "If you look around the state and the country, the real big school districts do not function any better than small school districts."

San Pasqual Union Superintendent Jeff Felix said the notion of joining with the two large Escondido districts has never been popular among parents and trustees at his school. "Personally, I would not be in favor of it," Felix said.

Unification can be initiated by a petition signed by trustees at all affected districts or by 25 percent of registered voters in the area.

From there, county Superintendent Rudy Castruita would determine whether the petition was sufficient, then hold public hearings, and a county committee would then make a recommendation to the state Board of Education. The state board would also hold hearings and make a recommendation, and could eventually have Castruita call an election on the matter.

The two Escondido districts have never been unified. Escondido already had an elementary school district when Escondido High School opened in 1894 with 36 students and serving an area far beyond Escondido's city limits.

The high school district was formed that year, with the elementary board selecting a separate board of trustees for it.

North County's unified school districts are in Oceanside, Carlsbad, Vista, San Marcos, Poway and Ramona. Areas without unified school districts are Bonsall, Fallbrook, Encinitas, Cardiff, Solana Beach, Del Mar and Rancho Santa Fe.

Tonight's board meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the high school district's offices at 302 N. Midway Dr.

Contact staff writer Tanya Rodrigues at (760) 740-5420 or trodrigues@nctimes.com.