Throughout the planning process for a school district merger in a northwestern Pennsylvania school district, effective communication proved to be a challenge. Formed in 1932, this school district of approximately 1400 students was part of a utopian community; one established by a transportation system's corporation that was a major industrial presence in the United States and northwestern Pennsylvania. Hence, the corporation provided an ideal community for its employees and their families. However, the significant social and economic changes that occurred on a global level over the past 75 years, ultimately spared neither this corporation, nor the school district. That said, the corporation generously supported both the community and the school system until the early 1980s when the effects of a downturn in the economy, and associated factors (e.g., the impact of high labor costs, the decline of the rust belt manufacturing business) were felt. Between 1982 and 1998, the corporation's proportion of support for the district dropped from 40% to 9.5% of total tax revenue. Subsequently, these circumstances forced the school district to confront ensuing short- and long-term problems. This article describes how the economic and fiscal situation forced this district and its community to examine alternative ways to sustain their educational programs, including the possibility of merging with another school district.