Memphis' K-12 and rebellion against the (racist?) govt monopoly

From the AP's Adrian Sainz (hat tip: C-J)...

A bold bid by the struggling, majority-black Memphis City Schools system to force a merger with the majority-white, successful suburban district has fanned relatively routine fears over funding and student performance into accusations of full-blown racism...

Gotta love that...

On March 8, Memphis voters will decide whether to approve disbanding the city schools system and turning education over to the county district, which is earning good grades on its own and doing everything it can to stave off consolidation.

Memphis resident and school cafeteria worker Mary Washington questioned why Memphis schools would even want to give over its students to a system that doesn't want them.

"It's just like you losing your freedom going into bondage," Washington, who is black, said after an American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees meeting... "In the background, in the foreground, it is about race."

Good point!

David Pickler, the white Shelby County School Board chairman, bristles at such claims.

"To say that we don't want someone because of the color of their skin to me is the most offensive thing someone can say to me," Pickler said...

Can't blame him for that! So, what does someone who believes in prevalent discrimination do with something like this?

There's also a growing feeling among some parents and students that the children are being ignored as adults make power plays and political moves...

That's common...

The spark for the schools consolidation fight began smoldering on Election Day last November, when Republicans took control of the state Legislature and saw Republican Bill Haslam win the governor's race. Shelby County's Republican politicians finally saw their chance to forever block a merger by securing special school district status.

The special status would draw a boundary around the Shelby County school district, protecting its autonomy and tax base -- and, according to Jones, taking $100 million a year from the already underfunded Memphis schools system....

The 2010-2011 budget for Memphis City Schools is about $890 million to cover 103,000 students, 85 percent of whom are black. For the 47,000-student Shelby County system, which is 38 percent black, it's more than $363 million...

One commenter on the website made this claim: "According to the TDOE state Report Card site, Memphis spent $10,767 per student '09-10 and Shelby $8,439. It's been this way a long, long time, Memphis leading the per-pupil spending of all districts in the state. All that money - an extra 27% over Shelby - and those D's and F's don't add up..."

That differs from the numbers presented in the article. (The difference may be capital spending.) But, amusingly, the reporter blindly accepts the "under-funded" claim when his own numbers indicate higher per-student spending in Memphis City ($8,641) than Shelby County ($7,723).

Pickler, who has asked a federal judge to invalidate the Memphis school board's decision to disband, says it's unfair that county voters will not be allowed to vote March 8. He says absorbing the Memphis system, which earned D's and F's from the state in important categories last year, would hurt academics in the county system, which received all A's.

A valid concern...

Pickler also argues the creation of one huge district will overstretch resources, possibly leading to job cuts among nontenured teachers, janitors and cafeteria workers. Schools that are operating under capacity could be closed....