By Eleanor Boudreau
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkno/local-wkno-945450.mp3
Memphis, TN – Honestly, I'm confused; and it's okay if you are, too. Legal opinions on this one have been shifting like, well, a kid in a classroom right before the bell.
A short-lived lawsuit brought by Citizens for Better Education ended this morning with a promised "compromise."
And that compromise is this: The Shelby County Election Commission will hold a referendum in the city of Memphis 45 to 60 days from now. By my calculations that's anywhere between February 27th and March 14th.
The election commission is going to meet next Wednesday at 4:00 to set the exact date.
The wording of the question will, of course, concern Memphis City Schools and will most likely go something like this:
"Whether the administration should be transferred to the Shelby County Board of Education," said attorney Allan Wade who filed the lawsuit.
The election commission declined to set a date for the referendum last week because of a letter they got from Tennessee Election Coordinator Mark Goins. A new letter from Goins, revising his opinion from the last letter, was sent to the election commission today.
The rush on the referendum is a partial response to a piece of legislation proposed at the statehouse that many thought could pass by Saturday. Senate Bill 25 says the county outside of Memphis, as well as the city itself, should get to vote on whether or not Memphis City Schools should be handed over to Shelby County Schools. State Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris is heading up that legislation; but Norris says the rush is off. He said he will not pass anything by Saturday. He says his bill will not be referred to committee until the legislature recesses and then returns in February. Responding to those who thought all the proposed haste was nefarious, Norris said there is, "no boogey man."
Norris hopes for a compromise voted on and passed by both the Memphis City Schools Board and the Shelby County Schools Board.
The Memphis City Schools Board meets at 5:30 today.