Strange things are afoot in Memphis, Tennessee. Some very brief background – in Memphis and Shelby County, we have both a city district (approx.. 100,000 students) and a suburban county district (approx. 45,000 students).
Just before the holidays, the city district voluntarily voted to surrender its charter, effectively dissolving the district. Since the county is the entity tasked with educating citizens, the ultimate result of this is likely to be the absorption of the city’s 100,000 students into a very large county-wide mega district. Before anything becomes official, a city referendum putting the question in the hands of the voters must pass. That is likely to happen in February, although there is much legal wrangling about the procedure and status of that vote.
This is a fascinating (and highly contentious) time with all sorts of undercurrents of race, history, and of course, politics. But I’m wondering if y’all have heard of anything of this sort happening elsewhere? On this type of scale? With a huge school system basically voting itself out of business? I would love to hear your thoughts (and I’m happy to fill in details for those who are interested).