WKNO TRANSCRIPT
CHRISTOPHER BLANK (Host): If you have school-age kids or are one of them listening right now, a word of warning. We're about to discuss the end of summer. With us again to crush illusions of eternal summer vacations is political analyst Otis Sanford. Welcome back.
OTIS SANFORD: Thank you, Chris. And boy, do you know how to create a downer for some of these students.
BLANK: Yeah, I'm sorry you have to be the bearer of bad news, but better you than me. One of the things that parents, students and schools are preparing for this year is a ban on cell phones in classrooms. And this started as a state law requiring districts to come up with their own policies. But I want to start with a educator's perspective on this. As a college professor, you had me visit your journalism class, which was a big lecture hall. And I was surprised at how distracted I was seeing my audience on their phones. Do you think devices in classrooms have impacted teaching?
SANFORD: Oh, absolutely it has. And when you reference the time you were at the University of Memphis in my class, that was just another example of where it was a total distraction. I had a dickens of a time keeping students off their cell phones, and it was a big distraction. And so I understand the reasoning for what's going on here. This is a major issue to have to deal with.
BLANK: And so the Memphis-Shelby County Schools Board, I think, sees this rule as a positive thing. They voted unanimously this week on their new policy, which not only bans phones and smartwatches, but also lays out some penalties like confiscations and suspensions. So, is this going to be a good thing for schools?
SANFORD: It remains to be seen, Chris, because I think this is one of the most significant changes in policy at public schools since maybe the school uniform. This is going to have to be carefully done, because it's kind of springing it on students. I guarantee you: there are a lot of students who don't even know about this policy yet, and their parents. So, this one is going to be really tricky in how they manage it and deal with the other consequences that could arise from it.
BLANK: Right, you know, we grew up in an era where parents had to call the school if they wanted to reach their kids. So, it is hard for me to see why some of the criticism of this rule is that parents might not be able to reach their kids in emergencies. I wonder if those concerns are relevant, or they're overblown?
SANFORD: Well, I think they're somewhat overblown, Chris. Now, having said that, obviously, there are some examples and some exceptions, because it could be a medical issue that arises. But to say I need to have instant access to my children at all times, I think that is overblown.
BLANK: Well, let's talk for a minute about schools and local governments. The municipal school districts are starting to face the financial consequences of both independence and being in communities that have lower property taxes. So, just to use Germantown as an example, Houston High needs $100 million in renovations, of which the City of Germantown was recently able to scratch up $10 million. Are the burbs going to be able to have these great public schools without raising taxes, or are there other ways to pay for them?
SANFORD: I don't think that they can possibly have the kind of schools that they said they were going to have when they formed separate schools without the necessary funding, and that funding will have to come from tax increases. I don't think that will be a big problem in the suburbs because one of the issues around having those suburban school districts was the opportunity to have local control over your schools. And if you're going to have a top-notch school district, they're going to have to have a tax increase in order to continue to do that.
BLANK: Well, this year, of course, also begins Tennessee's universal school voucher program. It's interesting that a program sold as a way to help kids from struggling schools get better education could actually end up hurting good public schools. And this is because even with the $7000 vouchers, most poor families can't afford private school, but middle and upper class households can, which is why suburban school districts oppose vouchers just as much as urban school districts oppose them. This semester will really be a trial run for vouchers. What will local school boards be trying to determine in the first year here?
SANFORD: They are going to be tracking the numbers very closely. And they're going to do that right off the bat to see how much of a decrease -- if there is a decrease -- in enrollment within their respective districts. Funding from the state is based on average daily attendance, so we're talking about enrollment there. So they're going to have to really monitor the students who are not there that maybe were there last school year. But I think this also is a big issue for, say, the Millington School District, for example. Because I think Collierville and Germantown can make the argument that where we are putting a lot of money into our schools, there is no need for you to go to a private school. So, I'll be interested to see district by district how much of a decrease they have.
