Millington pushes school board plans forward

Millington has seven school board candidates ready to run unopposed in November and a place to house them if municipal schools become a reality, members of a school transition committee heard at a meeting Tuesday night.

The city plans to house the new school board in a two-story building in need of minor renovations next to the Civic Center, committee member and Millington Alderman Mike Caruthers told about 20 people at the public meeting.

Caruthers also said the city procured temporary lodging for the school board in the old Chamber of Commerce building, which was in the process of becoming a quilt museum, until renovations to the other building are complete. The committee also discussed when to hire staff and how much to pay them.

A startup projection of approximately $200,000, based on figures from a feasibility study by Southern Educational Strategies, was delivered to the committee by former city finance director Bruce Rasmussen. The estimate includes salaries for board members, a new superintendent, an accountant and clerical personnel, as well as office equipment. "Go through the numbers," Rasmussen encouraged committee members, "and decide on what we need."

But despite the group's progress Tuesday night, there are still many unknowns that will affect Millington's plans for a new school system in coming weeks. The city is currently suing the Shelby County Election Commission over votes by Lucy residents in the Aug. 2 municipal schools sales tax referendum.

The sales tax option failed in Millington by three votes, and the feasibility study found that if a local sales tax was not implemented, Millington would need an 86-cent property tax increase to fund a new system. And next week, a hearing on the constitutionality of the August school referendums in the suburbs — all resulting in overwhelming support for municipal schools — will begin.

"By the end of September, we'll better know what direction we're going," said Caruthers. "We're putting a lot of work, effort, loss of sleep, into this. We need to make it happen or at least find out what's going on. "All we can do now is truck on."

Link to the Commercial Appeal

© 2012 Memphis Commercial Appeal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

Chism wants Shelby County Election Commission to stop municipal school board elections

Shelby County Commission chairman Sidney Chism has asked the county Election Commission not to place the elections for members to the six municipal school boards on the Nov. 6 ballot, citing a state law that allows no more than six school districts in the county.
Chism made the request in a letter to Robert Meyers, Election Commission chairman.

"If in fact it's unconstitutional for them to have more than six school districts, then we need to know so they can investigate before they put it on the ballot," Chism said. "They should be able to find out if it's legal for them to have it on the ballot or not."
The County Commission and the Memphis City Council are involved in a federal lawsuit challenging the creation of municipal school districts in Arlington, Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown Lakeland and Millington, which were approved by voters in Aug. 2 referendums. The lawsuit questions the constitutionality of the law that was drafted to allow for the municipal districts' existence. It also alleges that the creation of the mostly white municipal school districts discriminates against African-Americans.

The votes followed the decision to merge Memphis City Schools with Shelby County Schools beginning in the fall of 2013.
Chism could have had this latest aspect of contention concerning the municipal schools included in that lawsuit.

"Then I'd have to pay the lawyers," he said. "Let them pay."
The Election Commission's lawyers have told Meyers that the Election Commission does not have the authority to do what Chism has asked.

"I appreciate essentially the courtesy the chairman extended us by sending us that letter, but I just think the fact is we don't have the power to do what he's requesting us to do," Meyers said.

According to state law,counties with populations of more than 25,000, "shall have no more than six (6) school districts," including a county district, city district or special school districts.

The issue has been raised in briefs filed in advance of the Sept. 4 trial challenging the validity of the referendums. The legal skirmish concerns what constitutes the "creation" or "establishment" of a new school district.

The commission and council say the Aug. 2 referendums resulted in the creation of six new school districts, giving Shelby County eight school districts while Memphis City Schools is still in operation this academic year.

But attorneys for the suburbs argue that the referendums only authorize "preliminary steps toward establishing" a school district and don't violate the law. The potential problem with a legal limit on school districts is no surprise to municipal school supporters.
"We knew that the law said that," said County Commission member Chris Thomas.

They also knew that if all of the municipal schools were approved on the same day, which happened Aug. 2, a decision on the number would be required. But Chism should not have involved the Election Commission, Thomas said. "It's just disappointing and disheartening that Chism is trying to do more things to hurt the municipal schools," Thomas said. "That's not his decision. We've already got court stuff going on. That's something that can be decided there."

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/aug/29/chism-wants-shelby-county-election-commission-to/
© 2012 Memphis Commercial Appeal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Funeral for Dana Payne

(Millington, TN) Friends, family and classmates of Millington High School football player Dana Payne will come together today for his funeral.

Payne’s funeral will be held today at 3:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church at 5010 West Union Road in Millington.

The 15-year-old wide receiver and running back died last week at LeBonheur Children’s Hospital from injuries he suffered during football practice.

“They were running a play, like they do at practice, and he got hit hard,” said Payne’s mother Tameka Smith.

Smith told us last week she was proud of her son, that he loved his younger brothers and was passionate about football.

“I’m glad that he died doing what he wanted to do and not in these streets, with the gang members and they killing and all that. He died very good,” said Smith.
Dana Payne funeral

Shelby County Commission overrides mayor's tax referendum veto

Voters in Memphis, Millington and unincorporated Shelby County will decide in November if there should be a half-cent countywide sales tax increase to help fund the county's public schools.

On Monday the Shelby County Commission overrode Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell's veto of a sales-tax referendum, with an eight-vote majority.

The deciding vote was cast by Commissioner Melvin Burgess, an employee of Memphis City Schools, who received an opinion from the county attorney's office that it was not necessary to recuse himself from voting.

"We all want a world-class education system and you have to pay," Burgess said in support of his vote. "I believe it is our duty to put that question to the people," he said of the referendum.
read more County commission overrides mayors tax veto

Dana Payne

Millington Footbal Player Dies During Practice

(Millington, TN) A Millington High School football player died Tuesday during a practice session.
Millington Fire Chief Gary Graves said the student, 15-year-old Dana Payne, died on the way to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital.
Superintendent John Aitken left a school board work session to rush to the hospital.
News Channel 3 has a crew at Le Bonheur and will update the story as soon as details become available.

Dana Payne
Please keep Dana and his family in your prayers.

Suburban School Board Races Almost Set

Memphis Daily News//Bill Dries//Augugst 17, 2012

Races on the Nov. 6 ballot for six sets of suburban school boards took shape Thursday, Aug. 16, at the noon filing deadline for candidate qualifying petitions.

The candidates that made the deadline have another week to withdraw from the races if they wish.

But at the deadline, 14 of the 32 races were one-candidate contests where the person who filed effectively won the seat.

The filing deadline is another step along a political path that includes a federal court ruling to come on the Shelby County Commission’s challenge of the constitutionality of the state laws that set the ground rules for establishing the municipal school districts.

If the laws are upheld, the elections go forward. If the August referendum results are voided they don’t.

Here are the fields of candidates based on the list published Thursday evening by the Shelby County Election Commission.

In Arlington:

Lee Mills claimed the position 2 school board seat with no opposition. So did Kay Morgan Williams in position 3 and Barbara Fletcher in position 5.

Voters will decide among Steven Bierbrodt, Will Jerden and Danny Young for position 1. Former alderman Hugh Lamar withdrew from the race Wednesday.

The race for position 4 is among Eileen M. Hinders, Dale Viox and Kevin Yates.

In Bartlett:

Erin E. Berry was effectively elected to the position 2 seat when Anne Edmiston withdrew from the race at the deadline.

The other four positions are contested races

William Busler faces Jeff Norris for position 1.

It’s Jay Culpepper and Shirley Jackson for position 3.

Donald Gregory, Christopher Maley and Donald Bryan Woodruff are the contenders for position 4.

David Cook, Rick Faith and Randall Van Voorhis are running for position 5.

In Collierville:

All five school board positions are contested.

It’s Kevin Vaughan and F. Auston Wortman III in the race for position 1.

The position 2 contenders are Wanda Chism, Margaret Kasperbauer, Derrick McNeal, Cathy Messerly and Asit Patel.

Pam Hathaway, Carr Kelsey and Jan Speare are running in position 3.

Position 4 candidates are John Mark Hansen and Vivian Jones.

And Beth S. Bohon, Wright Cox and Curtis Fields are the pack in position 5.

In Germantown:

Three of the five positions were claimed at the filing deadline because one candidate was in each.

They are Paige Michael in position 1, Mark C. Dely in position 2 and Ken Hoover in position 5.

The position 3 race is between Sammy Jobe and Natalie Williams.

Position 4 is a contest among Edgar A. Babian, Brent E. Brockway and Lisa L. Parker

In Millington:

All seven school board positions were filled at the filing deadline with one candidate each in all of the races.

The winners are: Gregory L. Ritter, position 1, Christopher Grow, position 2, Louise Kennon, position 3, Charles P. Reed, position 4, Oscar L. Brown, position 5, R. Jason Dupree, position 6, Anne M. Reed, position 7.

The Millington school board races will also depend on the certification of the vote count from the Aug. 2 municipal school district referendums there. The formation of such a school district passed. But the half-cent sales tax hike failed by three votes in the unofficial vote count. The Shelby County Election Commission votes Monday on a certified vote count from that and other August races.

If the total in the sales tax referendum stands in the certified count, the city could pursue a Chancery Court lawsuit to contest the results.

In Lakeland:

There are no positions. The top five vote getters elected at large in a single race get the five positions. There are 14 contenders.

They are: Robert Blaudow, Richard Bryant, Nikki Bufalino, Laura Campbell, Paul T. Criss, Rick Davidson, Kevin Floyd, Ariel M. Guthery, Laura Harrison, Teresa Henry, Robin M. Larrabee, Jay Tyler, Paul Vandiver and Karen Woodward.

Suburban School Board Races Almost Set 

Millington School Transition Committee

In case you were unable to make the first school board transition meeting earlier this evening, they are reaching out to the public for volunteers to serve on various committees. If you are interested in being a part of history by helping to shape our new school system, please consider joining one of the committees listed below. Please contact Mike Curruthers at 573-0808 or Member7020@aol.com for more information or to sign up.

The committees are listed in bold and the bullets are the subjects to be explored on that committee:

Educational Services

• Student/Teacher Ratio
• Health Services
• Special Ed
• Gifted Programs
• Alternative Ed
• Other Services
• (Sports, Driver's Ed, NJROTC)

HR

• Central Office (design/staffing)
• School Staffing
• Compensation/Benefits
• Personnel Policies

Governance

• Board Policies
• Legal Issues
• City, state and Legislative Actions
• Communications
• Public Meetings
• Timeline
• Marketing

Instruction

• Pre-K
• Elementary
• Middle School
• High School
• Teacher Evaulation
• Professional Day

Planning & Budget

• Schools (#)
• Budget
• Capital Improvements
• (Long Range Plan)
• Purchasing

Operations

• IT
• Maintenance
• Custodial
• Nutrition
• Safety & Security
• Utilities
• Transportation