BARTLETT, TN – Bartlett Mayor Keith McDonald said now that a federal judge has weighed on the Memphis/Shelby County Schools consolidation issue, his city will continue looking into the idea of creating its own suburban school system.
“We have been waiting to have the judge's decision before deciding what the next step is and the pace we have to go,” said McDonald.
One reason McDonald said he supports a municipal system is representation. Under a combined city and county school board, county residents will likely have just a couple of board members representing their interests.
“We are going to be the smallest voice in this new system, and the system that has not done so well is going to have the biggest voice,” said McDonald.
The mayor said he believes it would take just a small tax hike to operate the schools. Acquiring the infrastructure, he expects would be costly. He said the city now has the staff to crunch numbers and look at their options. No word on if or when Bartlett could decide to break away from any newly formed unified district.
