1. Community Information
Meeting: The Future of Public
Education in Shelby County
January 19, 2011
Daniel Kiel
The University of Memphis
School of Law

2. Shelby County Comparison:
Government vs. Schools
Shelby County
Shelby County Schools
Government
 Serves ENTIRETY of  Serves only the portion of
Shelby County (including Shelby County outside of
Memphians and non‐ the Memphis city limits
Memphians)

4. Individual 1: The Memphian
Votes for Member of
PATH OF PROPERTY TAXES
Memphis City School
Board
City of Memphis Taxpayer
Children Assigned to
Attend Memphis City
City of Memphis Shelby County Schools
Government Government

5. Individual 2: The Non‐Memphian
PATH OF PROPERTY TAXES
Votes for Members of
Taxpayer Outside Memphis Shelby County School
Board
Shelby County
Children Assigned to
Government Attend Shelby County
Schools

6. Funding Sources
Source
(103,593 students) (47,342 students)
State of Tennessee $428M $174M
(49.5%) (50.7%)
Shelby County Property Taxes $255M $115M
(paid by all county residents –
Memphian and non‐Memphian) (29.5%) (33.5%)
Shelby County Sales Taxes $89M $43M
(10.3%) (12.6%)
City of Memphis Property Taxes $84M N/A
(paid only by Memphians)
(9.8%)
Other $8M $10M
(1.0%) (3.0%)

7. Why Change the Status Quo?:
Interests of the Two Districts
 Continued Local  Sustainability in
Control Funding

8. Strategy: SCS Conversion to
Special School District
Currently: SCS is a “County” District
Changes if SCS Converted to Special School District
oFrozen Boundaries
oIndependent Taxing Authority
oVeto Power Over Merger with Other School Systems
To Create a Special School District:
oLift Statewide Ban
oLegislative Creation of New Special School District

9. Why Change the Status Quo?:
Interests of the Two Districts
 Continued Local  Sustainability in
Control Funding

10. Strategy: Surrender of
MCS Charter
Motivating Force: Funding Uncertainties
oCity Contribution
oCounty Contribution if SCS becomes Special School
District
Meaning and Effect of Charter Surrender
To Dissolve Memphis City Schools Charter:
oSchool Board Surrender of Charter
oCitywide Referendum

11. Step One: MCS Board Votes to
Surrender Charter (Dec. 20, 2010)
Next Step: Citywide Referendum

12. What If…..the referendum succeeds?
Impact on Funding:
 Single-Source Local Funding – Shelby County Gov’t
Impact on Governance: Merged District
 Short-Term Uncertainty
 Long-Term = Reconstituted County-wide Board
Impact on Students:
 Transition Period to Hammer Out Details (for
example, uniforms, staffing, textbooks, etc.)
 New Board to Make Long-Term Decisions on student
assignment, academic programs

13. What If…..the referendum
does not succeed?
Maintenance of Status Quo in funding and governance
Shelby County Schools free to continue pursuit of Special
School District status in state legislature
Memphis City Schools free to consider other agreements
to ensure sustainable funding

14. Current Sub‐Issues
Continued Negotiation Between the Districts
oMCS Rejection of SCS Proposed Agreement
Legislation that Could Change Current Landscape
oState Legislature
oMemphis City Council