This paper outlines an attempt to include analysis of political, economic, and social considerations within a study of the feasibility of a school district merger in Guilford County, North Carolina. The paper is divided into three sections, the first of which discusses major conditions in each of three school districts in the county. Two of these districts are urban and city-run (High Point City and Greensboro); the third is rural and county-run. Merger of the districts has been an issue for at least a decade; each experienced declining enrollments, and the two city systems have been faced with increasing proportions of minority students as whites move into the county system following suburban development. Furthermore, the distribution of lower SES students is not equitable between the districts, which creates conditions of unequal resource needs and curricular requirements. Section II describes the research strategies used and major issues addressed in the study. The study consisted of two phases: Phase I identified the range of issues and questions surrounding merger among county and city residents, and Phase II addressed these issues in light of mergers in other places. The five study questions adopted concerned: costs; community schools; administrative centralization; declining enrollments and changing tax bases and pupil populations; and unified commitment to education. Section III summarizes major recommendations and the methodology used to disseminate study findings. Reasons for the research group's recommendations of merger into a single system are discussed. (KH)