While it is not the intent of the paper to portray the rural school jurisdictions as completely riven and incapacitated by conflicting interests, a very strong implication emerging from studies of these school systems is that "integrative" management policies and strategies are needed to counteract the fragmentation which has been exacerbated by the decline in student enrollments. Sections in this opinion paper include a brief review of sources of divisiveness in rural school administrative structure in relation to the factor of decline in enrollment in Saskatchewan and a discussion of approaches to conflict management, i.e., "integrative" management, consensus approach to management, political integration, sovereignty-dependence, and cross-cutting cleavages. The conclusion suggests that in reviewing two "integrative factors" which are associated with the theory of political integration, it was not the intent of this paper to suggest that they offer some kind of panacea for dealing with the problems of coordination and of public consent in rural school systems; that, apart from theoretical considerations, it appears events are enforcing the need for a greater degree of inter-community toleration and cooperation in differentiating and sharing educational services and resources; and that current approaches to organizing and administering rural school jurisdictions are really quite superficial. (AH)