Invest Capital Improvement Program funding into local schools

When we say we are advocates for education or proponents of public schooling, by what standard are we measuring that support?

After all, growth and achievement in education is stringently evaluated and critically assessed by metrics. Accountability binds our commitments to results, and based on the current funding of public education in Tennessee, how should we assess our commitment to education and literacy?

It was my father who often referenced Matthew 6:21 when teaching lessons in allowances and budgeting among his seven children. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

I believe in education because of my roots

My parents didn’t graduate from high school, but understood the value of education. They invested their time and savings to ensure we could read, write, and count. They weren’t familiar with the stock exchange or funding formulas, but recognized the return on an investment in education.

Let me be perfectly clear: We are at a crossroads in our County’s history. Ford’s Blue Oval City initiative is bringing unprecedented opportunities that will ripple through our region for generations. Wages in all sectors of the economy are rising and unemployment is at historic lows. Memphis and Shelby County are positioned for a quantum leap into the 21st century.

That’s why I need your help.

The Shelby County Commission provides capital improvement dollars to our seven public school systems in the county—memphis-shelby County Schools plus the six municipality districts. In the past, commissioners have allocated about $75 million each year among various projects, including schools.

These dollars, known as Capital Improvement Program (CIP) funds, are used for everything from building fire stations in rural areas to replacing air conditioning units at the County Courthouse to building and fixing schools. And regardless of the need, the total annual amount for all county-funded projects each year is $75 million, less than the cost of one comprehensive high school.

Back in March, the county commission authorized spending $28 million of those CIP dollars on a juvenile correctional facility. I have spent the last several months echoing the refrain that “Literacy is Life” and that when we don’t invest in literacy, people end up in the correctional system.

I want to build schools, not jails

With our county at the crossroads of where we’ve been—languishing with high poverty rates and limited opportunity—and where we can go—a future with high-wage, high-skill jobs, we need the county Commission to increase funding for capital projects.

The county commission could approve an extra $20 million in CIP funding without much difficulty at all. There is additional capacity under their bonded indebtedness. They could also leave the tax rate where it is to sustain the needed revenue.

I believe all the children of Shelby County should have access to world-class education in world-class facilities. From Smokey City to Collierville and all across the county, students deserve capital money to be spent on schools so we don’t have to spend as much on jails.

In Memphis-shelby County Schools, we have spent nearly $200 million of our one-time federal relief dollars addressing deferred maintenance issues, but it’s not nearly enough to mitigate our half-billion dollars of need.

Dr. Joris M. Ray is the Superintendent for Memphis and Shelby County Schools.