Residents of six suburbs near Memphis, Tenn., have voted to create their own school districts. The votes came weeks after the Memphis school system and Shelby County district had officially merged into one 140,000-student system, in one of the largest school mergers in the nation’s history.
The new districts would be located within the boundaries of the former Shelby County school system. The towns voted last fall to create their own school systems, but a federal judge invalidated the action. A newer state law allowed the latest votes.
Racial differences have haunted the conversation about the merged district.
Shelby County and Memphis students will attend the merged system for the 2013-14 school year, but it is now likely that separate systems will serve students next school year.
