Public school students are about to take “the Gateway,” those make-or-break standardized tests that purport to measure their academic progress and fitness for advancement.
In the next few weeks, The Memphis City Council should give its own Gateway exam to Superintendent Kriner Cash, who is asking the council to give Memphis City Schools an additional $120-$130 million or so over the next two years plus $50 million to cover “shortage” from last year.
All of that will likely mean a property tax increase for Memphis residents who already pay by far the highest property tax rate in Tennessee.
Memphis is already losing population and becoming increasingly isolated politically from the rest of Shelby County and Tennessee. A tax-increase of a few hundred dollars a year isn’t going to break many people, but it will send a message about how the city and the school system respond to a real budget crisis.
MCS has a billion-dollar-a-year budget. Before adding to it, which might or might not be the right call, city council members should ask Cash some questions:
