Main Street Journal: Online Exclusive: Stan Joyner: The Quest for Municipal Schools

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The Quest for Municipal Schools Represents Transformational Time for Collierville
By: Stan Joyner, Mayor of Collierville

During 2011, the citizens of Collierville found themselves facing one of the most serious and important issues our community has ever faced, the consolidation of Memphis City and Shelby County Schools. Last year we dedicated a great deal of our time and resources to remaining engaged in the political and legal process concerning this issue. The Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen recognizes that the schools are a valued asset of this community and that many people make a choice to live here because of the quality of education in our schools.

The calendar year 2012 is proving to be a critical and transformational time in the history of Collierville. I am very supportive of the concept of forming a municipal school district and am encouraged by the findings of our consultants and by the support from the community. Our goal in this effort to create a Collierville Municipal School District will be to give our children and future generations the opportunity for the best head start in life that we can possibly offer.

During the week of May 11th, Governor Haslam signed House Bill 1105 (HB 1105) allowing municipalities to hold referendums to form municipal school districts and for cities to hold school board elections should the voters approve school districts in the referendums. Since the signing of HB 1105, the Collierville BMA convened three times, including a public hearing on May 24th, to vote on the ordinances to call for a referendum and to create a new School Board. The Collierville BMA voted unanimously to approve both ordinances.

Within days after these ordinances were approved by the Collierville BMA, our legal counsel presented the approved ordinances to the Shelby County Election Commission and requested that the referendum be placed on the August 2nd ballot.

In early June, qualifying petitions will be available to any citizen interested in running for one of the five at large seats on the new School Board. Those petitions must be picked up in person at the Shelby County Election Commission Office at 150 Washington Street in downtown Memphis or the Election Commission Operations Office at 980 Nixon Road at Shelby Farms. The election for School Board is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, November 6th. To find out more information pertaining to the August 2nd election and the process for filing a petition go to the Shelby County Election Commission website at www.shelbyvote.com.

The foundational fabric of this great community of Collierville is our outstanding public education system. It seems natural that a community with such strong common bonds and values would want to have the ability to shape and influence directly the educational environment for its children. I encourage you to participate in this process by casting your vote on August 2nd, or by early voting which begins on July 13th and runs through July 28th. The location for early voting is Collierville Church of Christ, located at 575 West Shelton Road.

Let me assure you that the Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen will be devoting all the time, resources and expertise needed to insure that the quality of K-12 education in Collierville remains at the high standards that our citizens expect and students deserve.

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