It appears likely that the voters of Memphis will have the opportunity to disband their failed school system. After weeks of legal wrangling and political posturing, it appears that the Shelby County Election Commission will set a date for a public referendum within the next 60 days. If approved by a majority of city voters, the Memphis City Schools system will cease to exist at some point in the near future.
Less than two months before the proposed referendum, the public hasn't heard answers to a number of key questions. I haven't seen the language on the referendum question yet, but it certainly won't spell out all the many details that will come with surrendering the city school charter.
We do know that if MCS is disbanded, the Shelby County Board of Education will assume the responsibility for educating Memphis children. We don't know when the MCS would cease to exist. I assume that they will continue to operate city schools through the end of the current school year, but I don't know that for a fact. Would the Shelby County Board of Education operate city schools starting in July, 2011 or at a later date? I don't know and neither do the people who will be asked to vote in less than two months.
If MCS is disbanded, the county school population will go from the current 45,000 students to about 150,000 overnight.
I assume that city-owned schools would be turned over to the Shelby County Board of Education, but I don't know that is a fact and neither do the people who will vote on the referendum. Would the city turn over all current MCS property to Shelby County? Would Memphis expect to be compensated for the city school properties? I don't know and neither do the voters.
How long would the currently elected Shelby County school board be in control of the former MCS? When would the county school board be expanded to include Memphis residents? I don't know and neither do the voters.
IF Memphis voters agree to surrender control of their schools and IF the current Shelby County school board remains in control, there is a wonderful opportunity to overhaul a decayed urban school system that has failed miserably.
IF the MCS no longer exists, it stands to reason that all MCS employees will be terminated. Current MCS employees have no standing in the county school system. They would have to re-apply for positions within the city through the county. This will allow county school leaders to remove much of the dead wood within the MCS system. While there are undoubtedly many good teachers in the current MCS, it is abundantly clear too that there are many teachers and administrators who are unfit to educate our children. If we are going to get serious about providing Memphis children with a quality education, these unqualified teachers and administrators have to go and be replaced by qualified educators.
We don't need teachers and principals from schools with dismal test scores, high dropout rates and soaring teen pregnancies. These people have already demonstrated beyond any doubt that they are not up to the monumental task of educating poor, inner city children and teenagers.
If Memphis voters are to gain anything from surrendering control of their schools, we will have to insist that MCS test scores and other measures of student achievement rise to meet Shelby County levels. The fear in the suburbs is that combing the two systems will result in lowering standards in Shelby County schools. If that fear is realized, there will be no winners in this battle.
If disbanding MCS is to be a success, Memphis voters have to understand that the current status quo is unacceptable. We must hire professional educators, not politicians with their eyes on higher office, to operate our schools.
If they disband the city school system only to elect the same failed leadership to an expanded county school board, we will have accomplished nothing.
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