Tough decisions remain to unify schools

Controversial closings, privatization await

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After months of work by the Transition Planning Commission and school administrators, the unified Memphis and Shelby County school board is laying the foundation for a new countywide school district set to open next fall.

The low-hanging fruit harvested by the board last week accelerated what is going to be a long and arduous process.

So far, 42 recommendations by the TPC, including 28 last week, have been given the green light by the school staff and school board. Ten more recommendations are slated for approval in a special called meeting Tuesday night following the conclusion of the board’s monthly work session. There are 172 recommendations in all.

The controversial recommendation to close schools in the northwest and southwest part of town will be handled in a separate board meeting that has not been scheduled.

The TPC recommended closing 21 schools to produce a projected $20 million in savings that could help pay for a list of educational enhancements designed to produce what the group describes as a “world-class” school system. How many schools are, in fact, placed on the proposed closing list remains to be seen.

Among the ideas still being vetted by the in-house steering committee is the TPC’s high-priority proposal to make prekindergarten available to every 4-yearold in the county whose parents would like to see their child get extra preparation for the demands of school.

A number of issues surrounding the relationship between teachers and the district — from compensation to evaluations to staffing — remain to be addressed by the board.

The board also has not yet seen details on the controversial outsourcing of custodial and transportation services. A

request for proposal has been issued for prospective custodians for the schools under a totally privatized system (the county system is already privatized), primarily to give the steering committee an idea of what the savings might be.

The same strategy is being employed on the proposal to privatize transportation for the entire district (the city system already has a private system in place).

Meanwhile, an RFP also has been issued to identify a firm to conduct a nationwide search for a superintendent to head the system.

And strategy is being developed for how to put together a budget for a system that has lost about $78 million in city funding. Some approved recommendations may have to be revisited by the board for budgetary reasons.

But the specter hanging over every decision of the board is the prospect that instead of developing a system for 145,000 students — the combined enrollment of Memphis and Shelby County Schools — it will have to recalibrate to accommodate the loss of students to new suburban municipal districts.

The suburbs’ bid for independence is still a matter for U.S. District Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays to decide.