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 informed if the sides decide they cannot settle the matter before late October.

The motion filed by Lori Patterson, an attorney 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 ger- mane 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 sched- uled 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.

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.