School & District Management News in Brief

Memphis Suburbs Moving Closer to Avoiding Merger

By Jaclyn Zubrzycki — April 23, 2013 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Tennessee’s state legislature has passed two bills that would allow six of Memphis’ suburban cities to create their own districts. Those cities, all in Shelby County, intend to have new systems up and running by the start of the 2014-15 school year—and in doing so, evade a merger with the Memphis district.

Earlier this year, a judge had ruled that the suburban cities’ efforts to create their own districts were unconstitutional, though they had already passed referendums and begun creating local school boards. The new bills were written in response to the judge’s ruling and override laws that prohibited the creation of new school districts in the state and limited the number of districts per county. The changes mean that suburban cities near other urban centers in Tennessee could also create their own districts.

Suburban leaders have said they fear the merger will affect the stability of their own school systems. But the new law raises concerns about the financial stability of the merged district, which could end up serving only students from the city of Memphis and unincorporated areas of Shelby County.

The suburban cities have been collecting extra sales taxes in order to fund the new school systems.

As of press time, Gov. Bill Haslam, a Republican, had not yet signed the bills into law, but has stated his intention to. Legal and civil rights challenges are still a possibility: Lawmakers who oppose the measure expressed concerns that it will result in more-segregated and less equitably funded districts.

A version of this article appeared in the April 24, 2013 edition of Education Week as Memphis Suburbs Moving Closer to Avoiding Merger

Events

Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math
Student Well-Being Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: The Power of Emotion Regulation to Drive K-12 Academic Performance and Wellbeing
Wish you could handle emotions better? Learn practical strategies with researcher Marc Brackett and host Peter DeWitt.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management In Their Own Words This Custodian Got Students to Stop Vandalizing and Take Pride in Their School
Andy Markus, the 2025 Education Support Professional of the Year, helped boost behavior and engagement in his Utah district.
5 min read
Andy Markus, the head custodian at Draper Park Middle School, in Draper, Utah, sits for a portrait during the National Education Association's 2025 Representative Assembly in Portland, Ore., on July 3, 2025. Markus was named the 2025 NEA Education Support Professional (ESP) of the Year.
Andy Markus, the head custodian at Draper Park Middle School, in Draper, Utah, sits for a portrait during the National Education Association's 2025 representative assembly in Portland, Ore., on July 3, 2025. Markus was named the 2025 NEA Education Support Professional of the Year for his mentorship of students.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
School & District Management What the Research Says About School Boards: How Much Conflict Really Is There?
Plus, how competitive are board elections? How much do teachers' union endorsements matter?
7 min read
Houston ISD's appointed school board votes on the "District of Innovation" status during their monthly work session meeting at HISD Central Office on Sept. 7, 2023 in Houston.
Houston's appointed school board takes a vote during a meeting on Sept. 7, 2023 in the district's central office. A number of studies from recent years have answered questions about school boards' makeup, how competitive board elections are, whether conflict is on the rise, and more.
Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle via AP
School & District Management Opinion How a Weekly Email to My Staff Made Me a Better District Leader
Writing helps make sense out of what feels messy and focus us on what's most important.
George Philhower
5 min read
Blue hand holding red pen.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty + Education Week
School & District Management What Superintendents Say Went Right—and Wrong—This Past School Year
Superintendents who shared their reflections with Education Week cited local successes, as well as funding uncertainty.
1 min read
Miniature people sitting on a bar graph.
iStock/Getty