On Dec. 20, Memphis City Schools Board member Betty Mallott voted against the move to surrender the city's special school district charter and ask voters to approve a referendum to transfer administrative control to Shelby County. But shortly after the holidays, when Shelby County Schools board chair and SCS superintendent John Aitken tried a last-ditch effort to get the MCS board to rescind, Mallott came out conclusively in the side of supporting the narrow 5-4 vote she had opposed.
By the time fellow board member Jeff Warren's proposed compromise plans came for a vote, Mallott had become a reliable ally of those four remaining board members who had voted to dissolve MCS. Now, in an op-ed piece for The Commercial Appeal, Mallott has put her cards on the table -- she's advising folks to vote FOR the March 8 referendum to transfer administrative control.
The prevailing issue, Mallott says, involves the threat of the suburbs' carving out their own special school district, which she and others believe could put MCS's current funding at risk and possibly lead to a huge increase in taxes in Memphis and huge decrease for those outside of Memphis. Read the column for yourself, but here is a key excerpt:
By the time fellow board member Jeff Warren's proposed compromise plans came for a vote, Mallott had become a reliable ally of those four remaining board members who had voted to dissolve MCS. Now, in an op-ed piece for The Commercial Appeal, Mallott has put her cards on the table -- she's advising folks to vote FOR the March 8 referendum to transfer administrative control.
The prevailing issue, Mallott says, involves the threat of the suburbs' carving out their own special school district, which she and others believe could put MCS's current funding at risk and possibly lead to a huge increase in taxes in Memphis and huge decrease for those outside of Memphis. Read the column for yourself, but here is a key excerpt:
If passed, this vote will make the education of Memphis students, like all others in Shelby County, the responsibility of a countywide system with the funding equally shared among all Shelby Countians for all of its children. I can think of no more compelling reason for the MCS board to relinquish its charter than facing the serious decline of funding to educate the poorest children in the county. Tennessee law is clear that the MCS, as a municipal district, has the legal right to transfer the management of the district to the county schools.It is worth pointing out that Mallott spent her career in corporate leadership and organizational development and is well respected in that field.
Although the law is not specific about the process of merging the two systems, there is precedent that our districts will have time to plan for the changes. No action has to be taken quickly. The law provides for a variety of ways for the districts to work together for a smooth, orderly and well-timed unification process.
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