Our Nashville bureau chief, Richard Locker, sends this along, quoting the new Speaker of the House boasting about reducing Memphis's influence on state education policy. It does seem that Memphis-bashing never loses its power as an easy way to score political points for politicians outside of the Memphis area.
By Richard Locker
NASHVILLE - It's no secret that the Republican tidal wave that swept through the Tennessee statehouse in November sparked the current war over consolidation of Memphis and Shelby County Schools. It's up for debate which side -- city or county school officials -- first put fire to the cannon fuse but both MCS Board member Martavious Jones and SCS Board chairman David Pickler both immediately proclaimed that the new 64-34 GOP majority in the House of Representatives washed away the longstanding roadblock to the county school system's dreams of conversion to a special school district.
That roadblock was the House Education Committee, long dominated by Democrats - and particularly Memphis Democrats -- who favored MCS over the suburban district. SCS's annual attempt to lift the state's ban on the creation of new special school districts, enacted in 1982, always crashed against the Democratic firewall in either the K-12 subcommittee or the full Education Committee.
New State House Speaker Beth Harwell turned the Education Committee from what had been a 12-12 split between Democrats and Republicans during the last two years into a 12-6 GOP majority. She also appointed only two members from the city of Memphis -- Democratic Reps. John DeBerry and Lois DeBerry -- where there were five Memphis Democrats on it during the last two years.
Harwell boasted of that move when she spoke last weekend to Sumner County Republicans, according to TNreport.com, a news website covering state government. TNreport.com quoted Harwell as telling the GOP gathering, "We have, I think, the best education committee that has ever existed in the General Assembly. I broke up the Memphis control over it. I put some of our best and brightest on (the House committee). It is made up with some of our financial gurus on both the Democrat and Republican sides. We have elevated that committee significantly."
TNreport.com reported that Harwell "walked a tightrope" on the issue of whether to repeal the 1970s statute that gave local teachers' associations collective bargaining rights with local school boards. TNreport.com's Mike Morrow wrote that she said she hasn't decided whether to support the bill sponsored by her House GOP colleague, Rep. Debra Maggart of Hendersonville.
The bill to repeal the Professional Negotiations Act is one of several Republicans have introduced far to roll back measures won by the Tennessee Education Association during the years of Democratic rule, including bills to weaken tenure and remove TEA's statutory ability to nominate members to various boards and commissions.
By Richard Locker
NASHVILLE - It's no secret that the Republican tidal wave that swept through the Tennessee statehouse in November sparked the current war over consolidation of Memphis and Shelby County Schools. It's up for debate which side -- city or county school officials -- first put fire to the cannon fuse but both MCS Board member Martavious Jones and SCS Board chairman David Pickler both immediately proclaimed that the new 64-34 GOP majority in the House of Representatives washed away the longstanding roadblock to the county school system's dreams of conversion to a special school district.
That roadblock was the House Education Committee, long dominated by Democrats - and particularly Memphis Democrats -- who favored MCS over the suburban district. SCS's annual attempt to lift the state's ban on the creation of new special school districts, enacted in 1982, always crashed against the Democratic firewall in either the K-12 subcommittee or the full Education Committee.
New State House Speaker Beth Harwell turned the Education Committee from what had been a 12-12 split between Democrats and Republicans during the last two years into a 12-6 GOP majority. She also appointed only two members from the city of Memphis -- Democratic Reps. John DeBerry and Lois DeBerry -- where there were five Memphis Democrats on it during the last two years.
Harwell boasted of that move when she spoke last weekend to Sumner County Republicans, according to TNreport.com, a news website covering state government. TNreport.com quoted Harwell as telling the GOP gathering, "We have, I think, the best education committee that has ever existed in the General Assembly. I broke up the Memphis control over it. I put some of our best and brightest on (the House committee). It is made up with some of our financial gurus on both the Democrat and Republican sides. We have elevated that committee significantly."
TNreport.com reported that Harwell "walked a tightrope" on the issue of whether to repeal the 1970s statute that gave local teachers' associations collective bargaining rights with local school boards. TNreport.com's Mike Morrow wrote that she said she hasn't decided whether to support the bill sponsored by her House GOP colleague, Rep. Debra Maggart of Hendersonville.
The bill to repeal the Professional Negotiations Act is one of several Republicans have introduced far to roll back measures won by the Tennessee Education Association during the years of Democratic rule, including bills to weaken tenure and remove TEA's statutory ability to nominate members to various boards and commissions.
Deflating Tennessee's teachers' unions very much needs to be done; but I hate to see the re-unification of school systems in Shelby County become the victim of Republican resentment.