My Germantown Schools is a group of ordinary citizens dedicated to local control over our Germantown public schools. We have adopted three basic missions:
Educate: We will be a clearinghouse of information on the school issue. The Resources section already contains links to studies and legislation and will continue to grow. The News tab contains links to media coverage of the schools issue. The blog portion of the website allows us to serve as a discussion group, airing multiple perspectives from across Germantown. Beyond the website, we plan to use direct mail and other communications to share information with everyone in Germantown.
Organize: If you are a conservative, you might join the Republican party. If you are a liberal, you might join the Democratic party. If you are a hunter, you might join Ducks Unlimited. If you believe in local control of public education, you should definitely join My Germantown Schools. By joining together, we will form the foundation of public support upon which a local school district will be built.
Unify: My Germantown Schools will work to build a consensus in support of local control over our schools. A city school district provides an incredible opportunity to link parents, other residents, the business community, and municipal government together in a singular pursuit – excellence in education. We truly can be the shining city on the hill.
There are some difficult questions to be answered. Our Board of Aldermen and, later, the local school board will make decisions and set policy. Our role is to build one voice in favor of a municipal school district.
A successful effort will require the support of all Germantown residents. To reach all constituencies, we have formed a steering committee with public school parents, private school parents, and retirees from the four corners of Germantown. The tremendous value of these multiple perspectives has already shown through in our first few steering committee meetings.
We have also registered a political action committee (PAC) underneath the My Germantown Schools umbrella. The PAC can provide a vehicle for supporting our elected officials. More importantly, the financial reporting required by the PAC will provide transparency for the financial dealings of My Germantown Schools.
We have already seen the support of hundreds of Germantown residents. We need the support of thousands. Please forward this message to everyone in town. Send them to MyGermantownSchools.com to join the cause.
Don’t be in such a hurry. Recommend we wait to see what our higher county tax rate will be to support consolidated schools before we jump into financing our own schools.
Thank you for being the first to post.
It is possible that the county tax rate will go up. The county commission had lengthy discussions in 2009 about raising taxes county wide in order to replace the $70M the Memphis city goverment currently gives to MCS. In that plan, Germantown residents would have paid an extra $7.8M in county property taxes and NONE of that money would have been spent in Germantown.
In a mega school district, new county taxes won’t provide any benefit for Germantown schools. With a municipal school district, one half of any new county property tax will stay in Germantown. Municipal school districts in Germantown, Collierville, and Bartlett may actually decrease the liklihood of higher county taxes for education.
If we can get any kind of decision that affects Germantown residents out of the county commissions hands, then I’m all for it. The county commission is a joke. Ever heard the saying, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”? Well the county commission sure hasn’t. People are absolutely sick of politicians within the city and county governments. The people of Germantown are the one’s that need to decide what’s good for Germantown, not city councils or county commissions that have a hidden agenda. Germantown is really the last decent place to live in this county, when it goes, so does the county.
Wow! I filled out the form requesting a yard sign late yesterday afternoon. As I was backing out of my driveway this morning (7:15 AM) I noticed that the sign was already in my front yard. This kind of efficiency bodes well for the organization and implementation of the Germantown Municipal School System. My vote is certainly YES! I look forward to a well run local school system.
Thanks again,
Pat Lynch