Charter Changes?

Yesterday, I learned one thing very clearly: You do not mess with older women voters.

Or maybe just women, in general.

I went to a forum on the proposed amendments to the Memphis City and Shelby County charters (and sponsored by the League of Women Voters, Hadassah, and The Public Issues Forum). If you're interested in the proposals or, I don't know, going to be voting anytime soon, you should go to Change Memphis and read the explanations of each proposed change.

(I know that Flyer senior editor Jackson Baker has also written about some of the charter proposals, but I can't seem to unearth them on our website.)

The city charter amendments have to do with the sale of MLGW, instant run-offs, city residency requirements, and possible ethics violations by elected or appointed officials. Important stuff.

And the crowd at the forum was, for the most part, very respectful during the event. (There were a few people passing notes back and forth, which I take to be the exception.) But most people wrote their questions on index cards, passed them to the front, and listened quietly as forum organizers read them aloud and tried to answer them.

But then, when organizers tried to end the forum, all Hades started to break loose. Apparently, the index cards — once they made it to the front — were being sorted to weed out any duplication.

And one woman, not hearing her question asked, wanted it read and answered. Now. She was told she could come up to the front and ask it privately, but I guess she wanted all of us to hear the answer.

There was quite the hubbub. It was like the Picadilly had run out of lima beans during early bird hour.

Council AND Charter Commission Chair Myron Lowery, being a veteran of listening to the public, suggested her question be taken ... which, luckily, it was.

And then another woman spoke up to say that her question hadn't been read aloud or answered.

Finally, they decided to extend the forum to take any other questions. I'm not faulting these women: They had questions; the event was designed to answer questions; and dangit, their questions were going to be answered.

But I, for one, am not going to look at public forums the same way ever again.

The city, the charter, the schools

With a Memphis City Schools budget presentation to the City Council scheduled for this evening, school board and charter commission member Sharon Webb proposed — and then withdrew — a charter change that would have required the city to fund the school district.

In today's Charter Commission meeting, Webb presented a charter amendment that would have guaranteed Memphis City Schools at least 75 cents on every one hundred dollars of assessed property value.

After the City Council cut $66 million in funding to the school system in June, the district sued the city, arguing that it has a mandate to fund education under a state maintenance of effort clause. The city has argued that the maintenance of effort clause relates to the official local funding body, the county.

Webb said she wanted to give the citizens of Memphis the choice to fund Memphis City Schools.

"My rationale is that the children of the Memphis City Schools belong to Memphis city," Webb said. "From the abrupt decision made by the City Council, I really don't believe everybody understood the full impact of what happened."

In addition to Webb, charter commission members Willie Brooks and George Brown Jr. have both served on the school board.

Charter commission members Myron Lowery and Janis Fullilove, however, are currently members of the City Council.

"From what I understand, it's the responsibility of the county to fund education," Fullilove said. "I would vote no."

Brooks and Brown both mentioned how complex the issue of school funding was, Brown pointing out that today's meeting was the charter commission's second to last. Both seemed prepared to vote the measure down.

"As citizens of Memphis, we are providing tax support [for education], but its going through the county," Brooks pointed out.

"The last place we need to be talking abut school funding at this juncture is a charter commission meeting," Brown said.

After a brief recess, Webb withdrew her amendment, saying she would "just pray for the best."

The school board is scheduled to present budget information to the members of the City Council, the County Commission, and other elected officials tonight, 7 p.m., at Bridges.