Extension granted in schools case

Judge says claims against municipalities may be moot

A judge on Friday gave the parties in the federal case on municipal schools in Shelby County another 60 days to respond to his question of whether the case is “moot.”

Attorneys for the County Commission filed the request Friday on behalf of all the parties. U.S. Dist. Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays granted the extension late Friday afternoon, saying he should be in- formed if the sides decide they cannot settle the matter before late October.

The motion filed by Lori Patterson, one of the attorneys for the County Commission, came on the day Mays had set for the sides to respond to his request of why the case should continue. Mays noted that legislation passed earlier this year raised the question of whether the commission’s argument against the suburbs establishing municipal school systems and holding school board elections in November is necessary.

The extension indicates negotiations between the sides could be productive. Commission attorneys have begun meeting separately with individual suburbs to see if issues germane to those particular cities can be addressed.

“Currently, representatives of the Shelby County Commission, the Municipalities, and the Board of Education of Shelby County are participating in ongoing negotiations in an attempt to settle the remaining claims,” Friday’s extension request states. “... These parties have had at least four productive meetings that have taken place over the last two weeks and at least three more

meetings are scheduled to take place during the first two weeks of September.”

Arlington Mayor Mike Wissman has acknowledged representatives of that town have attended such meetings, and Lakeland Mayor Scott Carmichael said this week his city also had initial talks on the matter. Millington reportedly has met with the county representatives, and Bartlett is scheduled to discuss the matter in mid-September.

Bartlett Mayor Keith McDonald stopped short of calling the talks “fruitful” Friday afternoon. “I would just say they are ongoing,” McDonald said.

Another key factor in the County Commission’s challenge is whether the resulting municipal schools would result in segregation in violation of the equal protection clause under the 14th Amendment.

In the extension request, Patterson said state and city officials, also parties in the case, are being apprised of the developments.

The federal case involves challenges to the suburbs establishing municipal school districts — an effort that started after the Memphis school board surrendered its charter, leading to a merger with the Shelby County Schools.

The suburbs used 2012 legislation to pass referendums last summer establishing municipal schools, and the cities elected school boards last November. But laterthat month, Mays ruled that the 2012 enabling legislation was unconstitutional because it was crafted exclusively for Shelby County, a ruling that voided the 2012 votes.

The General Assembly this year passed new legislation with statewide application, apparently resolving that legal question. Last month, the suburbs again approved the municipal schools referendums. And, this week, each city passed ordinances estab- lishing individual school boards and requesting Nov. 7 elections for those bodies.

With the new legislation, Mays asked the sides to submit their positions by Friday on whether the amended language made the argument against the municipal schools moot. That led to the request for the 60-day extension.

The request states that the parties will advise the court if the negotiations are unsuccessful after the 60-day period. “Likewise, if the settlement negotiations remain ongoing at the expiration of the requested 60 days, the Parties will apprise the Court of the status of such negotiations.”