1 00:00:01,001 --> 00:00:02,202 - (female announcer) Production funding for 2 00:00:02,202 --> 00:00:04,938 Behind the Headlines is made possible in part by 3 00:00:04,938 --> 00:00:07,007 the WKNO Production Fund, 4 00:00:07,007 --> 00:00:09,275 the WKNO Endowment Fund, 5 00:00:09,275 --> 00:00:12,779 and by viewers like you, thank you. 6 00:00:12,779 --> 00:00:15,115 - The Lakeland and Germantown school districts, 7 00:00:15,115 --> 00:00:17,517 tonight, on Behind the Headlines. 8 00:00:17,517 --> 00:00:20,186 [intense orchestral music] 9 00:00:35,802 --> 00:00:37,370 I'm Eric Barnes with The Daily Memphian. 10 00:00:37,370 --> 00:00:38,905 Thanks for joining us. 11 00:00:38,905 --> 00:00:41,508 I am joined tonight by Jason Manuel, the Superintendent 12 00:00:41,508 --> 00:00:43,076 of the Germantown Municipal School District. 13 00:00:43,076 --> 00:00:44,911 Thanks for being here again. - Thanks for having me. 14 00:00:44,911 --> 00:00:47,447 - Ted Horrell is Superintendent of the Lakeland School System. 15 00:00:47,447 --> 00:00:49,382 Thanks for being here again. - Great to be here. Thank you. 16 00:00:49,382 --> 00:00:52,252 - Along with Abigail Warren from The Daily Memphian. 17 00:00:52,252 --> 00:00:54,754 We'll probably talk to more superintendents 18 00:00:54,754 --> 00:00:57,023 as we move towards the school year starting, 19 00:00:57,023 --> 00:00:59,993 but we got you all first, and we're really glad you're here. 20 00:01:01,127 --> 00:01:02,228 You just went through budget season, 21 00:01:02,228 --> 00:01:03,596 and let's kind of start there, 22 00:01:03,596 --> 00:01:05,799 maybe not necessarily the dollars and cents of it, 23 00:01:05,799 --> 00:01:07,067 but what it says. 24 00:01:07,067 --> 00:01:09,269 I think for both of you, you did, and again, 25 00:01:09,269 --> 00:01:10,670 I'm not gonna say everything's the same 26 00:01:10,670 --> 00:01:11,938 or everything's different, but just to start off, 27 00:01:11,938 --> 00:01:13,807 I think both of you were able to get raises 28 00:01:13,807 --> 00:01:15,542 for teachers and staff done. 29 00:01:15,542 --> 00:01:17,944 You, in Lakeland, were able to do, I think it was 30 00:01:17,944 --> 00:01:20,513 a 4 or $5 million increase in your budget, 31 00:01:20,513 --> 00:01:21,781 which I'm curious about. 32 00:01:21,781 --> 00:01:23,917 So you know, y'all are, I think 10 years 33 00:01:23,917 --> 00:01:26,753 from the deconsolidation 34 00:01:26,753 --> 00:01:29,355 and setting up the independent school districts. 35 00:01:29,355 --> 00:01:31,624 What does this budget say about where you are, 36 00:01:31,624 --> 00:01:32,859 where you've been, and where you're going? 37 00:01:32,859 --> 00:01:34,160 I'll start with you, Ted. 38 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:35,495 - Well, our situation's a little bit different 39 00:01:35,495 --> 00:01:37,330 because we're adding a grade level every year 40 00:01:37,330 --> 00:01:38,598 for each of the next two years, 41 00:01:38,598 --> 00:01:41,134 so when you see big increases like that, 42 00:01:41,134 --> 00:01:45,071 most of that probably reflects adding another 200 students, 43 00:01:45,071 --> 00:01:47,407 you know, per year, and the funds that come with those. 44 00:01:47,407 --> 00:01:48,708 - And that's at the high school, 45 00:01:48,708 --> 00:01:49,776 you're adding 10th next year? 46 00:01:49,776 --> 00:01:51,177 - Adding 11th next year. 47 00:01:51,177 --> 00:01:53,079 So our 10th will become our 11th grade next year, 48 00:01:53,079 --> 00:01:55,381 so, you know, additional personnel, 49 00:01:55,381 --> 00:01:57,684 support staff, everything else. 50 00:01:57,684 --> 00:01:59,953 But certainly what you said, I think the main priority, 51 00:01:59,953 --> 00:02:03,523 and for us, this was a year that we could finally do that 52 00:02:03,523 --> 00:02:05,358 'cause we've got the economy of scale to kind of do it, 53 00:02:05,358 --> 00:02:08,061 really make that major investment in teacher salaries 54 00:02:08,061 --> 00:02:10,597 and get ahead of the requirement to get teachers 55 00:02:10,597 --> 00:02:13,766 to a minimum $50,000 starting salary per year. 56 00:02:13,766 --> 00:02:15,335 - And that's a state requirement that was passed 57 00:02:15,335 --> 00:02:16,870 this last legislative session, or prior? 58 00:02:16,870 --> 00:02:19,105 - I think it was two years ago, 59 00:02:19,105 --> 00:02:22,108 but it goes into effect the next budget year. 60 00:02:22,108 --> 00:02:24,377 And I know Germantown-- - We're ahead of the game. 61 00:02:24,377 --> 00:02:27,113 - Yeah, and for you, I mean, again, you all are in it, 62 00:02:27,113 --> 00:02:28,948 I guess we get to the 3Gs question 63 00:02:28,948 --> 00:02:32,519 and that kind of lingering, what has been a challenge 64 00:02:32,519 --> 00:02:34,287 to put it lightly, but talk about where you are 65 00:02:34,287 --> 00:02:36,289 in this budget season and, you know, again, 66 00:02:36,289 --> 00:02:37,590 where you've been over the last 10 years, 67 00:02:37,590 --> 00:02:38,791 where you're going. 68 00:02:38,791 --> 00:02:40,426 And again, talk about the 3Gs and the state of them. 69 00:02:40,426 --> 00:02:41,761 - Sure. 70 00:02:41,761 --> 00:02:43,329 Well, I think we had challenges that some 71 00:02:43,329 --> 00:02:45,598 of the other school districts didn't have from the start. 72 00:02:45,598 --> 00:02:47,800 So right off the bat, three of the buildings, 73 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:49,869 Germantown Elementary, Germantown Middle, 74 00:02:49,869 --> 00:02:51,237 Germantown High School, didn't come 75 00:02:51,237 --> 00:02:53,606 to the Germantown Municipal School District. 76 00:02:53,606 --> 00:02:54,841 We were receiving students, 77 00:02:54,841 --> 00:02:58,011 but not the buildings in that case. 78 00:02:58,011 --> 00:03:00,446 So for us, one of the challenges we had, 79 00:03:00,446 --> 00:03:01,681 we didn't have reserves. 80 00:03:01,681 --> 00:03:04,250 And if you think about the cash flow for school districts, 81 00:03:04,250 --> 00:03:07,220 a lot of our funding, about 50% of our funding 82 00:03:07,220 --> 00:03:11,024 comes from property taxes and people pay those typically 83 00:03:11,024 --> 00:03:13,026 December to February is when people are paying those. 84 00:03:13,026 --> 00:03:15,395 And what you see in the bank account in school districts, 85 00:03:15,395 --> 00:03:18,364 our money continually drops, drops, drops, drops, drops 86 00:03:18,364 --> 00:03:21,201 until those property taxes hit the bank account. 87 00:03:21,201 --> 00:03:22,602 So we have to have reserves in order 88 00:03:22,602 --> 00:03:24,637 to have the cash flow for school districts. 89 00:03:24,637 --> 00:03:27,006 So that was an early challenge for all the school districts. 90 00:03:27,006 --> 00:03:30,243 And a lot of us had revenue anticipatory notes 91 00:03:30,243 --> 00:03:32,712 or we had loans from our cities in order to do that. 92 00:03:32,712 --> 00:03:34,480 So we all had to build reserves to do that. 93 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:37,483 So I think it's good that all the school districts 94 00:03:37,483 --> 00:03:40,119 have built strong reserves in order to provide 95 00:03:40,119 --> 00:03:41,221 for that cash flow. 96 00:03:41,221 --> 00:03:43,456 But then specifically, for us now, 97 00:03:43,456 --> 00:03:46,693 we are making investments around our strategic plan 98 00:03:46,693 --> 00:03:48,328 and making sure we're accomplishing those goals. 99 00:03:48,328 --> 00:03:49,929 - And again, before we go to Abigail, 100 00:03:49,929 --> 00:03:51,364 the state of the three schools, 101 00:03:51,364 --> 00:03:54,267 those three schools we call the 3Gs 102 00:03:54,267 --> 00:03:55,902 stayed with Shelby County Schools, 103 00:03:55,902 --> 00:03:57,770 now Memphis-Shelby County Schools, 104 00:03:57,770 --> 00:03:59,472 there's been a lot of negotiations. 105 00:03:59,472 --> 00:04:02,008 Update everyone on the status of each of those schools. 106 00:04:02,008 --> 00:04:04,777 - So that situation is settled as far as Germantown Schools. 107 00:04:04,777 --> 00:04:07,513 So there's a transition plan for those facilities. 108 00:04:07,513 --> 00:04:09,582 So for Germantown High School, 109 00:04:09,582 --> 00:04:13,786 Shelby County Schools has the right to settle that property. 110 00:04:13,786 --> 00:04:16,022 What they were doing, and it wasn't consistent 111 00:04:16,022 --> 00:04:19,092 with state law, was they were educating students from 112 00:04:19,092 --> 00:04:21,427 Cordova area and they were using buildings 113 00:04:21,427 --> 00:04:22,996 within our municipality district. 114 00:04:22,996 --> 00:04:24,631 So they weren't Germantown residents 115 00:04:24,631 --> 00:04:27,166 or majority Germantown residents 116 00:04:27,166 --> 00:04:29,135 that were attending those schools. 117 00:04:29,135 --> 00:04:32,138 So what is happening now is, I think Shelby County is working 118 00:04:32,138 --> 00:04:34,073 a situation where they're gonna sell 119 00:04:34,073 --> 00:04:35,975 Germantown High School's property, 120 00:04:35,975 --> 00:04:38,378 and they're gonna use those funds to help with the school 121 00:04:38,378 --> 00:04:40,913 they're building in Cordova that's gonna serve the students 122 00:04:40,913 --> 00:04:43,049 that were attending Germantown High School. 123 00:04:43,049 --> 00:04:44,417 For the Germantown Elementary and Middle, 124 00:04:44,417 --> 00:04:45,918 there's a slower transition for those. 125 00:04:45,918 --> 00:04:47,587 It's a 10-year period that they have 126 00:04:47,587 --> 00:04:49,122 in order to move those students. 127 00:04:49,122 --> 00:04:51,557 Once again, those students were not Germantown students, 128 00:04:51,557 --> 00:04:54,394 those students were living in other areas 129 00:04:54,394 --> 00:04:57,363 and they were bringing those students into those facilities. 130 00:04:57,363 --> 00:04:59,299 So that'll transition over buildings. 131 00:04:59,299 --> 00:05:02,335 But as far as us, all the physical students, 132 00:05:02,335 --> 00:05:05,705 residents of Germantown are attending our schools. 133 00:05:05,705 --> 00:05:07,940 - Let me go to Abigail. 134 00:05:07,940 --> 00:05:09,475 - Because it's been 10 years 135 00:05:09,475 --> 00:05:11,844 since the municipal school started, 136 00:05:11,844 --> 00:05:14,480 can you talk a little bit, and y'all may wanna bounce 137 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:18,217 off each other, how the county got from two districts 138 00:05:18,217 --> 00:05:21,254 to one district to seven, being six in the county. 139 00:05:21,254 --> 00:05:24,023 Can one of you recap, 'cause y'all lived it. 140 00:05:24,023 --> 00:05:25,925 - Is this a special two-hour edition 141 00:05:25,925 --> 00:05:27,627 of Behind the Headlines? [everyone laughs] 142 00:05:27,627 --> 00:05:30,496 I think, most notable but a lot of people probably take 143 00:05:30,496 --> 00:05:33,132 for granted at this point, there were two systems. 144 00:05:33,132 --> 00:05:34,500 Jason and I were both part of 145 00:05:34,500 --> 00:05:37,236 what we now call legacy Shelby County Schools. 146 00:05:37,236 --> 00:05:39,105 Memphis City Schools was the other system. 147 00:05:39,105 --> 00:05:40,373 It gave up its charter. 148 00:05:40,373 --> 00:05:43,843 So we had 1 year, the '13-'14 school year 149 00:05:43,843 --> 00:05:48,781 where we were all one district and then the next year, 150 00:05:48,781 --> 00:05:49,916 we were seven districts. 151 00:05:49,916 --> 00:05:51,718 So the six municipal systems, 152 00:05:51,718 --> 00:05:55,121 and then the remaining new Shelby County Schools, 153 00:05:55,121 --> 00:05:57,223 which is now Memphis-Shelby County Schools. 154 00:05:57,223 --> 00:05:59,192 So, we had about six months to kind 155 00:05:59,192 --> 00:06:02,128 of set up the new municipal school system. 156 00:06:02,128 --> 00:06:06,199 So we went from two to one to seven in three years. 157 00:06:06,199 --> 00:06:08,835 - And where in there was the election that was ruled, 158 00:06:10,169 --> 00:06:12,271 not official, for lack of a better term, 159 00:06:12,271 --> 00:06:13,639 and then the other one? 160 00:06:13,639 --> 00:06:17,643 - So that was before that merged year of '13-'14. 161 00:06:17,643 --> 00:06:20,613 So we thought that we were going to be able to open schools 162 00:06:20,613 --> 00:06:22,749 and it was gonna happen that '13-'14 year 163 00:06:22,749 --> 00:06:25,218 but that's when they had to go back to the drawing board. 164 00:06:25,218 --> 00:06:27,787 And there was new legislation that was passed 165 00:06:27,787 --> 00:06:29,856 that changed the way it was written. 166 00:06:29,856 --> 00:06:32,024 So that's why they merged year happened. 167 00:06:32,024 --> 00:06:33,426 - And was that helpful in some way, 168 00:06:33,426 --> 00:06:34,861 setting up the school district? 169 00:06:34,861 --> 00:06:39,465 Because, considering the attorney said it wasn't, 170 00:06:39,465 --> 00:06:43,736 or the judge said it wasn't official, 171 00:06:43,736 --> 00:06:46,406 that you didn't have to necessarily abide by 172 00:06:46,406 --> 00:06:48,841 sunshine laws and things of that nature as you were 173 00:06:48,841 --> 00:06:53,846 trying to get policies and trying to do the groundwork. 174 00:06:55,047 --> 00:06:57,350 - I don't know. It's hard to have that... 175 00:06:57,350 --> 00:06:58,885 Look back and... 176 00:06:58,885 --> 00:07:02,488 - Well, practically, all of that had to happen twice 177 00:07:02,488 --> 00:07:05,091 before we were even named our position. 178 00:07:05,091 --> 00:07:08,494 So I think there was some certainly policy work 179 00:07:08,494 --> 00:07:10,963 that was worked out by the boards before we came on board, 180 00:07:10,963 --> 00:07:14,500 but for the most part, from the day we were named 181 00:07:14,500 --> 00:07:16,736 and started, which most of us was, you know, 182 00:07:16,736 --> 00:07:20,873 January 1st, 2013, we had 6 months. 183 00:07:20,873 --> 00:07:23,342 - So we still had six months of compressed timeframe 184 00:07:23,342 --> 00:07:24,644 to build our school districts 185 00:07:24,644 --> 00:07:27,847 and we relied heavily on each other to do so. 186 00:07:27,847 --> 00:07:29,415 So I don't know if it was necessarily helpful. 187 00:07:29,415 --> 00:07:32,018 I think there were some things that weren't helpful. 188 00:07:32,018 --> 00:07:34,987 You had a lot of challenges because when we were dealing 189 00:07:34,987 --> 00:07:37,056 with staff moving from one system to another, 190 00:07:37,056 --> 00:07:38,624 how do we transfer over data? 191 00:07:38,624 --> 00:07:41,093 How do we transfer over, when you think about how teachers 192 00:07:41,093 --> 00:07:43,429 are paid over the summertime, or administration. 193 00:07:43,429 --> 00:07:46,766 We had a lot of issues that developed because of that, 194 00:07:46,766 --> 00:07:48,768 that we had to work through legally. 195 00:07:48,768 --> 00:07:49,969 - All these years later, 196 00:07:52,805 --> 00:07:54,874 I'm gonna assume you're happy that you did it, 197 00:07:54,874 --> 00:07:56,943 that you don't regret it and that the boards and so on, 198 00:07:56,943 --> 00:07:58,778 but are you where you thought you would be? 199 00:07:58,778 --> 00:08:00,179 I'll go with you first, Ted. 200 00:08:00,179 --> 00:08:02,415 Is this what you expected, give or take 10 years? 201 00:08:02,415 --> 00:08:05,751 - If you'd asked me 10 years ago if I thought 202 00:08:05,751 --> 00:08:10,256 we would have our own middle and high school both fully 203 00:08:10,256 --> 00:08:13,459 built out, I would've said no, that's too compressed. 204 00:08:13,459 --> 00:08:15,595 I mean, it's a pretty quick turnaround 205 00:08:15,595 --> 00:08:20,099 to go from 1 school with 820 students in 2014, 206 00:08:20,099 --> 00:08:22,902 and then 10 years later, we're about to have a junior class. 207 00:08:22,902 --> 00:08:24,270 It's just a lot of construction. 208 00:08:24,270 --> 00:08:25,771 It's a lot of financial issues. 209 00:08:25,771 --> 00:08:30,209 So more than most, a lot of our attention and energy 210 00:08:30,209 --> 00:08:33,880 has been focused on just having the complete K-12 system. 211 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:35,681 So we're a bit ahead of schedule, 212 00:08:35,681 --> 00:08:37,583 in my mind, in that regard. 213 00:08:37,583 --> 00:08:39,318 - I'll say yes and no. 214 00:08:39,318 --> 00:08:41,954 I would say what you're looking at here are two of the highest 215 00:08:41,954 --> 00:08:44,156 achieving districts in the state of Tennessee, 216 00:08:44,156 --> 00:08:46,526 and we continually set the bar. 217 00:08:46,526 --> 00:08:49,529 So we know that efficiency is different 218 00:08:49,529 --> 00:08:51,564 when we have smaller school systems. 219 00:08:51,564 --> 00:08:53,266 There's a joke, and I think you're the one who tells me, 220 00:08:53,266 --> 00:08:55,167 like, how do we make decisions in Germantown? 221 00:08:55,167 --> 00:08:57,803 We'll have three town halls, two committee meetings, 222 00:08:57,803 --> 00:09:00,339 and then we'll decide as a school board. 223 00:09:00,339 --> 00:09:03,276 It's funny, but it's also something special 224 00:09:03,276 --> 00:09:06,012 that really defines us and defines both of our districts. 225 00:09:06,012 --> 00:09:09,015 When we think about how do we make decisions, 226 00:09:09,015 --> 00:09:12,385 how do we move towards what our communities want? 227 00:09:12,385 --> 00:09:15,154 There's a voice, there's a way for our communities 228 00:09:15,154 --> 00:09:17,456 to really define, and you're talking about programming. 229 00:09:17,456 --> 00:09:19,592 You're talking about how are you building your buildings. 230 00:09:19,592 --> 00:09:20,693 When I think about what y'all did 231 00:09:20,693 --> 00:09:23,262 to design that, it's incredible. 232 00:09:23,262 --> 00:09:25,431 - Let me shift to some of the more immediate issues. 233 00:09:25,431 --> 00:09:29,635 And one is absenteeism, what we used to call truancy, 234 00:09:29,635 --> 00:09:33,506 which is a national, I don't know, some would say a tragedy. 235 00:09:33,506 --> 00:09:34,807 It's a national phenomenon. 236 00:09:34,807 --> 00:09:36,309 It is not unique to your school districts, 237 00:09:36,309 --> 00:09:37,610 to Memphis school districts. 238 00:09:37,610 --> 00:09:40,613 I think nationally, it's been pre-COVID to now, 239 00:09:40,613 --> 00:09:44,584 the rate of chronic absenteeism was about 15% nationally. 240 00:09:44,584 --> 00:09:46,852 It's almost 30% now. 241 00:09:46,852 --> 00:09:49,288 Germantown, I think the numbers the state put out, 242 00:09:49,288 --> 00:09:53,926 this is from '18-'19 to '22, '23, from 3 1/2 243 00:09:53,926 --> 00:09:56,796 to nine percent of students in Lakeland, 244 00:09:56,796 --> 00:09:58,898 four and a half to 7.5. 245 00:09:58,898 --> 00:10:01,200 Shelby County Schools went from 18 to 30. 246 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:03,836 DeSoto went from 8 to 28. 247 00:10:03,836 --> 00:10:06,305 Statewide, it went from 13% to 20%. 248 00:10:06,305 --> 00:10:09,041 A lot of numbers, and not to target y'all. 249 00:10:09,041 --> 00:10:11,777 Clearly, it was COVID, but there's more to it 250 00:10:11,777 --> 00:10:14,080 because we're a bit past COVID 251 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:16,015 and these rates are still relatively high. 252 00:10:16,015 --> 00:10:18,517 So I'll start with you, Jason. What happened? 253 00:10:18,517 --> 00:10:20,353 What are you doing? Why does it happen? 254 00:10:20,353 --> 00:10:22,488 What do you hear from students? 255 00:10:22,488 --> 00:10:24,724 And again, I should probably say chronic absenteeism 256 00:10:24,724 --> 00:10:27,326 is considered missing 10% of the school days. 257 00:10:27,326 --> 00:10:30,896 So, give or take 18 days, 18 to 20 days. 258 00:10:30,896 --> 00:10:34,233 - So for us, we did see a change in how students 259 00:10:34,233 --> 00:10:36,769 and families view school attendance 260 00:10:36,769 --> 00:10:39,138 and just the drive to get there. 261 00:10:39,138 --> 00:10:41,207 So it has been a challenge for us. 262 00:10:41,207 --> 00:10:43,809 We have a truancy officer that works with families. 263 00:10:43,809 --> 00:10:46,245 We have social workers that work with families to try 264 00:10:46,245 --> 00:10:49,548 to remove those barriers for students to come to school. 265 00:10:49,548 --> 00:10:51,317 So it's something that we always have to work with. 266 00:10:51,317 --> 00:10:54,420 We've also had to play with our exam exemption policy, 267 00:10:54,420 --> 00:10:57,356 and we just changed it again this past week. 268 00:10:57,356 --> 00:10:59,725 So when we look at that motivation for students 269 00:10:59,725 --> 00:11:01,594 to come to school, there was a time at the high school 270 00:11:01,594 --> 00:11:03,829 where we thought, "Hey, the only reason you're gonna be 271 00:11:03,829 --> 00:11:06,766 "exempt from an exam is if you're doing well in that class 272 00:11:06,766 --> 00:11:08,467 and you're making an A in that class." 273 00:11:08,467 --> 00:11:10,936 In the past, we used to have a carrot of, 274 00:11:10,936 --> 00:11:13,773 "And if you have good attendance, 275 00:11:13,773 --> 00:11:15,841 that's also a component too." 276 00:11:15,841 --> 00:11:17,343 We removed that cap 277 00:11:17,343 --> 00:11:20,379 and we saw the attendance rates dramatically increase 278 00:11:20,379 --> 00:11:22,915 when we took away the attendance piece. 279 00:11:22,915 --> 00:11:25,918 And so now we have slowly been removing it. 280 00:11:25,918 --> 00:11:27,820 And during COVID, it was higher, 281 00:11:27,820 --> 00:11:30,723 but now we are back to five days to be exempt from exams 282 00:11:30,723 --> 00:11:32,992 'cause we have to have those pieces in place 283 00:11:32,992 --> 00:11:34,827 to get those students to school. 284 00:11:34,827 --> 00:11:36,395 - When you talk about the truancy officers 285 00:11:36,395 --> 00:11:38,364 and working with families and students, what are those... 286 00:11:38,364 --> 00:11:40,099 I'm not asking for any specifics, 287 00:11:40,099 --> 00:11:43,936 names or anything like that, but what do families say 288 00:11:43,936 --> 00:11:45,971 that they maybe didn't say before COVID? 289 00:11:45,971 --> 00:11:48,140 - I think everything's different. 290 00:11:48,140 --> 00:11:50,876 It's just a view of how they're dealing with school. 291 00:11:50,876 --> 00:11:52,745 But you're talking about different families 292 00:11:52,745 --> 00:11:54,513 having different challenges and different needs. 293 00:11:54,513 --> 00:11:57,049 So they may be working through loss of a job. 294 00:11:57,049 --> 00:11:58,584 They may be working through 295 00:11:58,584 --> 00:12:00,352 a chronic disease of a family member. 296 00:12:00,352 --> 00:12:02,154 And so a lot of what we do is putting 297 00:12:02,154 --> 00:12:04,957 people in connection with resources. 298 00:12:04,957 --> 00:12:06,292 And that's what our social workers do 299 00:12:06,292 --> 00:12:08,961 to make sure they're getting those supports. 300 00:12:08,961 --> 00:12:10,362 - Same questions to you. 301 00:12:10,362 --> 00:12:12,865 - I agree that I think it's a myriad of challenges. 302 00:12:12,865 --> 00:12:15,868 I mean, sometimes it's just economic challenges. 303 00:12:15,868 --> 00:12:17,136 Somebody's in a situation where they just 304 00:12:17,136 --> 00:12:18,971 can't get the child to and from school 305 00:12:18,971 --> 00:12:20,973 because of, you know, whatever reason. 306 00:12:20,973 --> 00:12:24,610 I do think during COVID, it became not only acceptable, 307 00:12:24,610 --> 00:12:25,845 but kind of preferred for people to say, 308 00:12:25,845 --> 00:12:27,747 "If I've got the sniffles, I'm not sending 309 00:12:27,747 --> 00:12:29,281 my kid to school on these days." 310 00:12:29,281 --> 00:12:31,283 And so you put a few of these things together, or maybe 311 00:12:31,283 --> 00:12:35,254 they're participating in an athletic team that travels 312 00:12:35,254 --> 00:12:37,356 and so they're gonna take an extra day here or there. 313 00:12:37,356 --> 00:12:38,557 And you add all these things up 314 00:12:38,557 --> 00:12:41,093 and I think you end up potentially with higher rates. 315 00:12:41,093 --> 00:12:45,464 - As an educator, does some of it drive you nuts? 316 00:12:45,464 --> 00:12:48,267 I mean, I'm not taking away from the legitimate excuses. 317 00:12:48,267 --> 00:12:51,003 But that kind of increase, a lot of those things 318 00:12:51,003 --> 00:12:52,905 you're talking about existed before COVID. 319 00:12:52,905 --> 00:12:55,775 So does it frustrate teachers? 320 00:12:55,775 --> 00:12:57,409 Is there more understanding? 321 00:12:57,409 --> 00:12:59,211 I mean, what is the reaction to it? 322 00:12:59,211 --> 00:13:01,680 - I think when you dig into it, you find, 323 00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:04,750 very frankly, understandable human stories. 324 00:13:04,750 --> 00:13:06,852 And again, they're all in such different categories. 325 00:13:06,852 --> 00:13:09,955 I think for the most part, our students and our parents 326 00:13:09,955 --> 00:13:12,358 want kids to be in school and they do just about 327 00:13:12,358 --> 00:13:13,859 everything they can to get them there. 328 00:13:13,859 --> 00:13:15,127 There's not a situation where I say, 329 00:13:15,127 --> 00:13:16,996 "Well, they're working the system 330 00:13:16,996 --> 00:13:18,597 or they're abusing it or they don't wanna be there." 331 00:13:18,597 --> 00:13:20,833 I just think it's a number of things. 332 00:13:20,833 --> 00:13:22,268 - Abigail. 333 00:13:22,268 --> 00:13:24,103 - Jason, you've probably touched on yours a little bit, 334 00:13:24,103 --> 00:13:26,972 but for both of you, the biggest challenge 335 00:13:26,972 --> 00:13:29,608 of the last 10 years undoubtedly was COVID, 336 00:13:29,608 --> 00:13:32,111 the pandemic, shutting down schools. 337 00:13:32,111 --> 00:13:33,612 But apart from that, 338 00:13:33,612 --> 00:13:36,982 what has been your biggest challenge in the last 10 years? 339 00:13:38,517 --> 00:13:41,520 - Ooh. We've had multiple. 340 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:43,656 Like I said, I think at the beginning, financially, 341 00:13:43,656 --> 00:13:47,326 how do we build that reserve and move carefully? 342 00:13:47,326 --> 00:13:50,296 One of the challenges we've all faced is OPEB. 343 00:13:50,296 --> 00:13:52,231 And I remember having it and I was like, 344 00:13:52,231 --> 00:13:53,499 "OPEB, what is OPEB?" 345 00:13:53,499 --> 00:13:54,633 And I sat in a meeting and they're like, 346 00:13:54,633 --> 00:13:55,668 "You've got an OPEB problem." 347 00:13:55,668 --> 00:13:56,936 And I was like, "Yes, we do." 348 00:13:56,936 --> 00:13:58,604 And I had to go look up what OPEB was. 349 00:13:58,604 --> 00:14:01,273 It's other post-employment benefits. 350 00:14:01,273 --> 00:14:03,843 So Shelby County had a policy where if you worked 351 00:14:03,843 --> 00:14:05,244 for the system and you retired, 352 00:14:05,244 --> 00:14:07,646 you got health benefits in retirement. 353 00:14:07,646 --> 00:14:10,816 And so that is a growing snowball. 354 00:14:10,816 --> 00:14:14,553 And as a district, I think we all worked to close that door 355 00:14:14,553 --> 00:14:16,355 so that we didn't have that growing payment. 356 00:14:16,355 --> 00:14:18,424 So how do we financially provide for those? 357 00:14:18,424 --> 00:14:20,359 And cities deal with this too. 358 00:14:20,359 --> 00:14:22,228 How do you provide for those retirement benefits 359 00:14:22,228 --> 00:14:24,663 that, every year, you have more and more people 360 00:14:24,663 --> 00:14:27,566 that are retiring and the amount grows and grows. 361 00:14:27,566 --> 00:14:29,168 So we had to move carefully with that. 362 00:14:29,168 --> 00:14:32,104 The biggest challenge I think for us was the zoning. 363 00:14:32,104 --> 00:14:34,907 The three Germantown schools, we have rezoned twice 364 00:14:34,907 --> 00:14:37,610 as a school district in a 10-year period and you'll have 365 00:14:37,610 --> 00:14:40,512 school districts that don't rezone for 20 years. 366 00:14:40,512 --> 00:14:42,314 That has been a big challenge for us. 367 00:14:42,314 --> 00:14:44,850 And how do we do that, and like I said, and get the community 368 00:14:44,850 --> 00:14:47,553 buy-in so that they understand where we drew those. 369 00:14:48,754 --> 00:14:52,324 - I think most of where we've spent our time 370 00:14:52,324 --> 00:14:53,993 or a great deal of it has been on 371 00:14:53,993 --> 00:14:55,494 facilities in Lakeland School System. 372 00:14:55,494 --> 00:14:58,397 Again, building two, you know, massive schools within, 373 00:14:58,397 --> 00:15:00,966 you know, the first few years of being open is a big deal. 374 00:15:00,966 --> 00:15:04,069 I'll also say though that, and I know Jason would agree, 375 00:15:04,069 --> 00:15:07,740 I think increasingly, we're getting additional requirements, 376 00:15:07,740 --> 00:15:10,943 restrictions, regulations handed down to us 377 00:15:10,943 --> 00:15:12,311 from the state legislature. 378 00:15:12,311 --> 00:15:14,613 I know that's happening nationally as well, 379 00:15:14,613 --> 00:15:17,983 but the targets kind of tend to change, the marks change. 380 00:15:17,983 --> 00:15:21,854 You're constantly having to update or adapt policies 381 00:15:21,854 --> 00:15:24,189 maybe that you didn't expect to. 382 00:15:24,189 --> 00:15:26,091 And it actually does take a lot of time 383 00:15:26,091 --> 00:15:28,627 and energy to make sure that you're in compliance 384 00:15:28,627 --> 00:15:31,764 with state law and doing what you need to do there. 385 00:15:31,764 --> 00:15:33,632 But also making sure your eye is on that prize 386 00:15:33,632 --> 00:15:35,834 of child benefit in every situation. 387 00:15:35,834 --> 00:15:38,604 So balancing those things can be a challenge. 388 00:15:38,604 --> 00:15:40,306 - Talk about zoning. 389 00:15:40,306 --> 00:15:43,008 we talked about students, I mean, Germantown is unique 390 00:15:43,008 --> 00:15:44,743 and that had the legacy schools 391 00:15:44,743 --> 00:15:46,812 staying within the city limits. 392 00:15:48,280 --> 00:15:50,015 I don't have kids in the schools anymore, 393 00:15:50,015 --> 00:15:51,550 so I'm confused by this. 394 00:15:51,550 --> 00:15:54,820 There's a way in which people from out of your districts 395 00:15:54,820 --> 00:15:57,056 can attend, I believe, Germantown schools, 396 00:15:57,056 --> 00:15:58,657 I think Lakeland, I'm not sure. 397 00:15:58,657 --> 00:16:00,025 - Not Lakeland. - Not Lakeland, yeah. 398 00:16:00,025 --> 00:16:01,226 Some of the other school districts do this. 399 00:16:01,226 --> 00:16:02,561 So I'll just focus on you, Jason. 400 00:16:02,561 --> 00:16:04,930 Where they pay a fee if they're not a resident. 401 00:16:04,930 --> 00:16:06,966 How does that whole process work and what's the thinking? 402 00:16:06,966 --> 00:16:08,500 - What's defined by state law, 403 00:16:08,500 --> 00:16:10,035 and this will be our first year that we're getting ready 404 00:16:10,035 --> 00:16:12,571 to charge tuition as a school district. 405 00:16:12,571 --> 00:16:15,274 So it's based on the amount that the city is providing 406 00:16:16,308 --> 00:16:18,043 through property taxes. 407 00:16:18,043 --> 00:16:20,279 So what they do is they do a calculation of 408 00:16:20,279 --> 00:16:22,915 all the property taxes and it's the equivalent of 15 cents 409 00:16:22,915 --> 00:16:25,250 for every a hundred dollars in that property tax. 410 00:16:25,250 --> 00:16:26,919 So it's an amount that they calculate 411 00:16:26,919 --> 00:16:28,220 and they have to provide. 412 00:16:28,220 --> 00:16:29,989 So all the municipals have that component. 413 00:16:29,989 --> 00:16:32,658 The way you have to calculate the tuition is you take 414 00:16:32,658 --> 00:16:35,260 your number of students and you divide by that number 415 00:16:35,260 --> 00:16:36,528 and that's what you come up with. 416 00:16:36,528 --> 00:16:38,097 - Which is give or take what in Germantown? 417 00:16:38,097 --> 00:16:39,631 - So we have $500 for the year. 418 00:16:39,631 --> 00:16:43,068 - Okay, so, I could have, give or take, 419 00:16:43,068 --> 00:16:46,338 I could have a child living the heart of Memphis, 420 00:16:46,338 --> 00:16:47,973 I could live in Bartlett, I could live in Lakeland. 421 00:16:47,973 --> 00:16:49,842 I could apply to get there? - Yes. 422 00:16:49,842 --> 00:16:52,845 So the way we do it, it's not necessarily an application. 423 00:16:52,845 --> 00:16:56,281 You put your name in and it's a lottery that you would draw. 424 00:16:56,281 --> 00:16:57,649 But we do it based on space. 425 00:16:57,649 --> 00:16:59,018 So we look at grade levels, 426 00:16:59,018 --> 00:17:00,819 we look at how much space that we have for those. 427 00:17:00,819 --> 00:17:03,956 And every year, we have optimal capacity in our classroom. 428 00:17:03,956 --> 00:17:06,225 So we try to be less than the state numbers. 429 00:17:06,225 --> 00:17:07,926 And we are less than the state numbers 430 00:17:07,926 --> 00:17:09,294 of teacher-student ratio 431 00:17:09,294 --> 00:17:11,497 and then we do a calculation to determine that. 432 00:17:11,497 --> 00:17:14,099 A lot of ours are employees' children 433 00:17:14,099 --> 00:17:16,035 that are attending our schools. 434 00:17:16,035 --> 00:17:18,203 We also have City of Germantown employees are allowed 435 00:17:18,203 --> 00:17:20,639 to come too, so that's a lot of our transfers too. 436 00:17:20,639 --> 00:17:22,441 - And you allow City of Germantown employees 437 00:17:22,441 --> 00:17:26,779 and GMSD employees' children to go for free, correct? 438 00:17:26,779 --> 00:17:28,280 - Yes. Without tuition. 439 00:17:28,280 --> 00:17:30,015 - I gotcha, gotcha. Was that a state law you welcomed? 440 00:17:30,015 --> 00:17:31,283 Or one that you're like, "Well, 441 00:17:31,283 --> 00:17:34,053 that handed something to us." - It's not required. Yes. 442 00:17:34,053 --> 00:17:36,388 - It allowed it. - It allows it. Yes. 443 00:17:36,388 --> 00:17:38,290 It sets limits on what they can do, yes. 444 00:17:38,290 --> 00:17:40,059 - Okay. And you all have opted out of that? 445 00:17:40,059 --> 00:17:42,227 - We have, when we started, we just didn't have extra room. 446 00:17:42,227 --> 00:17:43,529 I mean, we were busting at the seams. 447 00:17:43,529 --> 00:17:46,365 And so when we began the system and contemplated 448 00:17:46,365 --> 00:17:48,167 if we were gonna have open enrollment, we decided not to 449 00:17:48,167 --> 00:17:49,668 and have just kind of carried forward with that. 450 00:17:49,668 --> 00:17:51,937 All of our master planning has been based on 451 00:17:51,937 --> 00:17:53,939 projected enrollment in Lakeland. 452 00:17:53,939 --> 00:17:56,375 So basically, in Lakeland School System, you either have 453 00:17:56,375 --> 00:17:59,011 to live in Lakeland or we do also allow our employees 454 00:17:59,011 --> 00:18:01,280 of the school system in the city 455 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:03,182 to send their students for free. 456 00:18:03,182 --> 00:18:05,284 - Before, I should note, we have about eight minutes left 457 00:18:05,284 --> 00:18:06,952 in the show and we will be trying to get 458 00:18:06,952 --> 00:18:09,154 other superintendents from the suburban school districts 459 00:18:09,154 --> 00:18:10,522 on in the coming weeks or months. 460 00:18:10,522 --> 00:18:13,025 And we've been trying to get the new superintendent 461 00:18:13,025 --> 00:18:14,159 of Memphis-Shelby County Schools on. 462 00:18:14,159 --> 00:18:15,561 We thought we had her, 463 00:18:15,561 --> 00:18:17,429 they've had to cancel three, four or five times. 464 00:18:17,429 --> 00:18:19,832 We're not quite sure yet, but we are trying to get them on. 465 00:18:19,832 --> 00:18:22,634 And hoping the staff can get that scheduled and keep to it. 466 00:18:22,634 --> 00:18:24,636 So let me go to Abigail. 467 00:18:24,636 --> 00:18:28,073 - Speaking of the legislature, they came out with a law 468 00:18:28,073 --> 00:18:31,410 that allows, but doesn't require teachers to be armed. 469 00:18:31,410 --> 00:18:35,514 How are each of your school districts handling that? 470 00:18:35,514 --> 00:18:36,882 - So I think this is something 471 00:18:36,882 --> 00:18:38,417 that each district has to look at. 472 00:18:38,417 --> 00:18:40,486 So know that the state law prescribes that you have 473 00:18:40,486 --> 00:18:42,588 to have a joint agreement between the principal 474 00:18:42,588 --> 00:18:43,989 of the school, the superintendent, 475 00:18:43,989 --> 00:18:46,158 and local law enforcement. 476 00:18:46,158 --> 00:18:48,894 I think for some school systems, that may be a good thing. 477 00:18:48,894 --> 00:18:53,899 If you look at the rate, the time it takes for officers 478 00:18:53,899 --> 00:18:56,435 to get to the school, and they may not have 479 00:18:56,435 --> 00:18:58,370 school resource officers in their buildings. 480 00:18:58,370 --> 00:19:00,873 That may be a need for some school systems to have that. 481 00:19:00,873 --> 00:19:02,608 We are very thankful for our partnership with 482 00:19:02,608 --> 00:19:05,110 the City of Germantown and we have SROs 483 00:19:05,110 --> 00:19:06,478 in each of our school buildings. 484 00:19:06,478 --> 00:19:09,114 We also have a floating detective that goes around 485 00:19:09,114 --> 00:19:11,683 to all of our buildings, and so they are armed. 486 00:19:11,683 --> 00:19:14,319 And so we don't have the need at this time to do that. 487 00:19:14,319 --> 00:19:16,388 It's not something that we would close the door on, 488 00:19:16,388 --> 00:19:18,524 but at this time, we don't have that need. 489 00:19:18,524 --> 00:19:21,793 - We don't have our own municipal police department 490 00:19:21,793 --> 00:19:23,996 so we partner with the Shelby County Sheriff's Department. 491 00:19:23,996 --> 00:19:26,632 Sheriff Bonner has said he does not support 492 00:19:26,632 --> 00:19:29,935 having employees with firearms in school. 493 00:19:29,935 --> 00:19:33,005 So that really closes the door for us. 494 00:19:33,005 --> 00:19:35,874 We do have armed Shelby County Sheriff's deputies, 495 00:19:35,874 --> 00:19:37,176 two of them. 496 00:19:37,176 --> 00:19:39,111 At Lakeland Preparatory School we have our own security guard, 497 00:19:39,111 --> 00:19:40,979 at Lakeland Elementary School, who is armed. 498 00:19:40,979 --> 00:19:43,215 He's a former Shelby County Sheriff's lieutenant. 499 00:19:43,215 --> 00:19:46,251 So we feel like we've got a very, very good situation 500 00:19:46,251 --> 00:19:48,420 in terms of securing our building and our students. 501 00:19:48,420 --> 00:19:51,890 - All this comes out of many things, I mean, 502 00:19:51,890 --> 00:19:54,993 but one is just mass shootings at schools, and you know, 503 00:19:54,993 --> 00:19:59,164 it's about 10 years since Sandy Hook, 504 00:19:59,164 --> 00:20:02,701 the first kids who were young there, the mass shooting 505 00:20:02,701 --> 00:20:06,638 where 28 people were killed at Sandy Hook in Connecticut 506 00:20:06,638 --> 00:20:07,873 have graduated from high school. 507 00:20:07,873 --> 00:20:09,408 I heard some interviews with them recently 508 00:20:09,408 --> 00:20:10,676 and it was just... 509 00:20:10,676 --> 00:20:12,945 It's amazing that 10 years have gone by. 510 00:20:12,945 --> 00:20:14,379 I mean, you all have been educators 511 00:20:14,379 --> 00:20:15,747 before you were superintendents, right? 512 00:20:15,747 --> 00:20:17,316 I mean, you've been educators forever. 513 00:20:17,316 --> 00:20:21,086 The change of when I was in, you know, elementary, middle, 514 00:20:21,086 --> 00:20:24,189 and high school to when you all started to just even 515 00:20:24,189 --> 00:20:27,059 in the last 10 years, beyond this arming teachers 516 00:20:27,059 --> 00:20:31,196 or arming staff, what other changes have you had to pursue? 517 00:20:32,197 --> 00:20:34,166 - Well, I think, I mean, it starts with a mindset change. 518 00:20:34,166 --> 00:20:36,101 I mean the mindset is: This could happen. 519 00:20:36,101 --> 00:20:37,936 And so when you look at different situations 520 00:20:37,936 --> 00:20:40,772 in your school or you look at the facilities planning, 521 00:20:40,772 --> 00:20:44,209 for example, or you look at, you know, assemblies or athletics 522 00:20:44,209 --> 00:20:47,779 or anything like that, it's not the, you know, 523 00:20:47,779 --> 00:20:49,681 hopefully not the main thing you think about every day, 524 00:20:49,681 --> 00:20:52,017 but it has to be something you think about 525 00:20:52,017 --> 00:20:54,353 and we work carefully with our partners 526 00:20:54,353 --> 00:20:57,089 in both the fire department, the sheriff's department, 527 00:20:57,089 --> 00:20:59,791 and Homeland Security and the State of Tennessee, 528 00:20:59,791 --> 00:21:01,560 Department of Education just to make sure. 529 00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:04,563 The question's always: Are we doing everything that we can? 530 00:21:04,563 --> 00:21:06,865 And we try to keep up with best practices 531 00:21:06,865 --> 00:21:09,534 and feel like that's what we're doing. 532 00:21:09,534 --> 00:21:12,771 - So for us, and it's a new requirement for new construction 533 00:21:12,771 --> 00:21:14,239 that you have bullet-resistant glass. 534 00:21:14,239 --> 00:21:16,174 So we have bullet-resistant glass 535 00:21:16,174 --> 00:21:17,709 in all of our buildings now. 536 00:21:17,709 --> 00:21:21,680 Like I said, we do training with our staff on that. 537 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:24,182 We train with paramedics also and the SWAT team so that 538 00:21:24,182 --> 00:21:26,184 they learn tourniquets and battlefield 539 00:21:26,184 --> 00:21:28,553 because when the police come to sweep the building, you have 540 00:21:28,553 --> 00:21:30,722 to think about who's doing the lifesaving procedures. 541 00:21:30,722 --> 00:21:33,292 It's not the police, they're trying to deal with the threat. 542 00:21:33,292 --> 00:21:36,094 So we do extensive training with our staff too. 543 00:21:36,094 --> 00:21:40,399 The SROs in each of our buildings is a key piece for us. 544 00:21:40,399 --> 00:21:43,302 And then reunification, making that plan for, 545 00:21:43,302 --> 00:21:45,971 if you have an event like this, where are you relocating to? 546 00:21:45,971 --> 00:21:48,206 So we all have extensive plans that we work with. 547 00:21:48,206 --> 00:21:50,275 - I mean, there's no argument with any of that. 548 00:21:50,275 --> 00:21:51,843 I don't think anyone listening 549 00:21:51,843 --> 00:21:53,745 shouldn't do those and have to those. 550 00:21:53,745 --> 00:21:56,782 But is there a way in which we sort of normalized this? 551 00:21:56,782 --> 00:21:58,750 I mean, I can remember Columbine, you know, 552 00:21:58,750 --> 00:22:00,419 in my lifetime, was one of the first big... 553 00:22:00,419 --> 00:22:04,389 And now it is, I think anyone would say, way too frequent. 554 00:22:04,389 --> 00:22:06,358 And also, how do the kids respond? 555 00:22:06,358 --> 00:22:07,859 The young kids, the older kids? 556 00:22:07,859 --> 00:22:09,361 The older kids have lived with this their whole life. 557 00:22:09,361 --> 00:22:11,663 They've seen it on TV, they've seen it on social media. 558 00:22:11,663 --> 00:22:14,299 I mean, what's the emotional side of this? 559 00:22:15,334 --> 00:22:16,668 - I think that's a great question. 560 00:22:16,668 --> 00:22:18,537 I don't know that I have the expertise to say, 561 00:22:18,537 --> 00:22:19,905 you know, their emotional impact. 562 00:22:19,905 --> 00:22:22,607 I do know that students from a young age now have 563 00:22:22,607 --> 00:22:24,776 to be aware because we have drills that are required 564 00:22:24,776 --> 00:22:27,145 and that are necessary to make sure that, 565 00:22:27,145 --> 00:22:29,748 if the, you know, unthinkable happens, 566 00:22:29,748 --> 00:22:31,216 that everybody's prepared. 567 00:22:31,216 --> 00:22:33,919 So there is, again, there is a mindset shift 568 00:22:33,919 --> 00:22:35,387 is the main thing. 569 00:22:35,387 --> 00:22:36,621 - Thoughts on that. 570 00:22:36,621 --> 00:22:38,390 - Yeah, I think we have to be prepared. 571 00:22:38,390 --> 00:22:41,259 And so that's the promise, not like we're desensitized. 572 00:22:41,259 --> 00:22:43,428 It's like everyone knows that your worst nightmare could 573 00:22:43,428 --> 00:22:47,099 happen as a leader in a school, as a teacher in a school 574 00:22:47,099 --> 00:22:48,934 working with children and I think that's the fear. 575 00:22:48,934 --> 00:22:50,302 And every time it happens, 576 00:22:50,302 --> 00:22:52,371 it's a case study of unfortunately, 577 00:22:52,371 --> 00:22:55,240 "Oh, what could have been done better in this situation?" 578 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:57,542 And we're all looking to those events, unfortunately, 579 00:22:57,542 --> 00:22:59,544 to see how we can improve our safety. 580 00:22:59,544 --> 00:23:01,513 - A couple minutes left here, Abigail. 581 00:23:01,513 --> 00:23:02,981 - I know this is kind of a hard question, 582 00:23:02,981 --> 00:23:05,016 but if you had a crystal ball 583 00:23:05,016 --> 00:23:07,753 and could foresee what your biggest challenge is 584 00:23:07,753 --> 00:23:10,355 in the next 10 years, what do you think that is? 585 00:23:11,623 --> 00:23:13,291 - We are playing catch-up for facilities now 586 00:23:13,291 --> 00:23:14,793 at Houston High School. 587 00:23:14,793 --> 00:23:16,962 So we have a Houston High School master plan. 588 00:23:16,962 --> 00:23:19,831 That building was built in late '80s 589 00:23:19,831 --> 00:23:21,633 and so that's something that we are looking 590 00:23:21,633 --> 00:23:25,470 for funding from our municipality in order to help us 591 00:23:25,470 --> 00:23:27,139 make sure that we're keeping up with 592 00:23:27,139 --> 00:23:28,407 the incredible facilities 593 00:23:28,407 --> 00:23:30,175 that you see in other school districts. 594 00:23:30,175 --> 00:23:31,543 But that's something that we need to work on 595 00:23:31,543 --> 00:23:33,879 so that we're providing the classroom space, 596 00:23:33,879 --> 00:23:36,748 the lab space, because how we teach has changed. 597 00:23:36,748 --> 00:23:39,951 - Similar to the last part, we're always concerned 598 00:23:39,951 --> 00:23:41,620 and trying to look ahead on facilities 599 00:23:41,620 --> 00:23:43,655 'cause it's likely that we may need another one, 600 00:23:43,655 --> 00:23:47,759 certainly within 10 years, but students are different. 601 00:23:47,759 --> 00:23:50,362 The way they learn is different, their needs are different. 602 00:23:50,362 --> 00:23:52,831 So we're constantly trying to adapt to that 603 00:23:52,831 --> 00:23:56,268 and everything from our schedule to our curriculum 604 00:23:56,268 --> 00:23:59,538 to our technology, certainly AI comes into play. 605 00:23:59,538 --> 00:24:02,307 You know, what is it that the kids need to know 606 00:24:02,307 --> 00:24:04,009 that we didn't know they needed to know 607 00:24:04,009 --> 00:24:06,244 even two years ago when it comes to AI? 608 00:24:07,546 --> 00:24:09,047 - Last question. We could do a whole show on this. 609 00:24:09,047 --> 00:24:11,817 Vouchers, the governor's big massive voucher program 610 00:24:11,817 --> 00:24:14,419 did not pass the legislature this past session. 611 00:24:14,419 --> 00:24:17,088 It is pretty clear it's gonna come back. 612 00:24:17,088 --> 00:24:22,027 Each of you, you support or you are opposed to the voucher. 613 00:24:22,027 --> 00:24:24,763 Yeah. The opposed to it, and why? 614 00:24:26,364 --> 00:24:28,834 - We believe and have stated very strongly 615 00:24:28,834 --> 00:24:31,736 that we think public dollars should go to public schools. 616 00:24:31,736 --> 00:24:34,439 And beyond that, we think that if dollars are going 617 00:24:34,439 --> 00:24:36,174 to different schools, then they all need to be held 618 00:24:36,174 --> 00:24:38,577 to the same expectations and accountability. 619 00:24:38,577 --> 00:24:41,346 That's not what the proposals say. 620 00:24:41,346 --> 00:24:43,482 And I don't feel like the voucher program 621 00:24:43,482 --> 00:24:44,983 strengthens public schools. 622 00:24:44,983 --> 00:24:47,486 And I have to believe public schools are a bedrock of, 623 00:24:47,486 --> 00:24:50,455 you know, our nation. 624 00:24:50,455 --> 00:24:53,425 And it's important to cause them 625 00:24:53,425 --> 00:24:54,793 to be as strong as they can be. 626 00:24:54,793 --> 00:24:58,797 - So I'm strongly, deeply opposed to vouchers. 627 00:24:58,797 --> 00:25:00,699 Every year since I've been a superintendent, 628 00:25:00,699 --> 00:25:03,702 we've added 50 laws on the books 629 00:25:03,702 --> 00:25:05,403 every year and they don't go away. 630 00:25:05,403 --> 00:25:06,905 You talk about the accountability, 631 00:25:06,905 --> 00:25:09,274 you talk about the things, the limits around: 632 00:25:09,274 --> 00:25:10,609 How long do you have to teach math? 633 00:25:10,609 --> 00:25:12,377 How long do you have to teach English? 634 00:25:12,377 --> 00:25:14,446 How many hours of PE are you getting? 635 00:25:14,446 --> 00:25:15,814 Student-teacher ratios, 636 00:25:15,814 --> 00:25:17,816 what exactly are you teaching in the standards? 637 00:25:17,816 --> 00:25:20,051 We don't have that flexibility. 638 00:25:20,051 --> 00:25:22,521 And if the goal is to provide options for families 639 00:25:22,521 --> 00:25:25,223 to do that, take the handcuffs off of us. 640 00:25:25,223 --> 00:25:27,292 Let us have a little more flexibility 641 00:25:27,292 --> 00:25:29,561 because we are high-achieving school districts. 642 00:25:29,561 --> 00:25:30,962 Let us have those options. 643 00:25:30,962 --> 00:25:33,598 If you think that parents need to have something different, 644 00:25:33,598 --> 00:25:35,934 why are you building such a tight box 645 00:25:35,934 --> 00:25:37,469 for public school systems? 646 00:25:37,469 --> 00:25:39,838 And also too, if the goal is to provide 647 00:25:39,838 --> 00:25:41,907 for students' choice, that choice exists 648 00:25:41,907 --> 00:25:44,376 and you should have other options. 649 00:25:44,376 --> 00:25:47,078 We have charter schools, we take transfers for students. 650 00:25:47,078 --> 00:25:49,080 - All right. Again, we may do a whole other show on that. 651 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:50,248 But thank you both for being here. 652 00:25:50,248 --> 00:25:51,550 Appreciate it. Thank you, Abigail. 653 00:25:51,550 --> 00:25:53,485 Again, coming in the next few weeks, 654 00:25:53,485 --> 00:25:56,154 we've got Juvenile Judge Tarik Sugarmon 655 00:25:56,154 --> 00:25:57,722 we've got the interim president of CBU. 656 00:25:57,722 --> 00:25:59,491 We've got State Senator Brent Taylor 657 00:25:59,491 --> 00:26:01,826 and Josh Spickler from Just City coming on 658 00:26:01,826 --> 00:26:03,528 talking about some of the criminal justice reforms. 659 00:26:03,528 --> 00:26:05,397 And we're hoping to have the new superintendent 660 00:26:05,397 --> 00:26:08,166 in Memphis-Shelby County School sometime sooner than later. 661 00:26:08,166 --> 00:26:09,267 Thanks very much. 662 00:26:09,267 --> 00:26:10,402 If you missed any of the episode, 663 00:26:10,402 --> 00:26:12,103 you can get it online at wkno.org 664 00:26:12,103 --> 00:26:13,838 or wherever you get your podcasts. 665 00:26:13,838 --> 00:26:15,140 We'll see you next week. 666 00:26:15,140 --> 00:26:17,809 [intense orchestral music] 667 00:26:27,519 --> 00:26:29,521 [acoustic guitar chords]