One of the most vocal critics of the countywide school board’s $1.18 billion budget proposal says the schools merger is imposing a failed education formula on legacy Shelby County Schools.

“Why is it that Shelby County Schools can provide more teachers, better salaries for their principals and so forth – they can provide more of that than Memphis (City Schools) can with more money?” Shelby County Commissioner Wyatt Bunker asked. “That is the failure of the school board that Tomeka (Hart) served on to do what needed to be done years and years and years ago.”

2. County Commission OKs Capital Improvements - Saturday, May 25, 2013

The Shelby County Commission also approved Monday a capital improvements plan budget of $29.9 million for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The biggest part of that amount – $13.6 million – is pay-as-you-go projects funded from county savings with another $10 million in CIP funding from the federal government.

3. County Commission Approves Capital Improvements Budget - Wednesday, May 22, 2013

The Shelby County Commission also approved Monday a capital improvements plan budget of $29.9 million for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The biggest part of that amount – $13.6 million – is pay-as-you-go projects funded from county savings with another $10 million in CIP funding from the federal government.

4. Retiring Boomers Driving Sales of Small Businesses - Thursday, May 16, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) – Baby boomers preparing for retirement are driving a surge in small business sales, as they find more and more buyers confident enough in the improving economy to expand their own businesses through acquisitions.

5. School Board Considers Funding Shifts - Thursday, May 16, 2013

When countywide school board members begin considering changes Thursday, May 16, to the $1.18 billion budget proposal before them, there will be few easy choices.

First reactions and questions from school board members Tuesday at the first of three board sessions this week revolved around ways to shift funding in order to expand pre-kindergarten to more schools.

6. School Board Examines Budget Fine Print - Wednesday, May 15, 2013

The funding gap for the still tentative schools merger stands at an even $35 million in new funding.

The new total came Tuesday, May 14, after interim schools superintendent Dorsey Hopson told countywide school board members he and his staff had eliminated a “district initiative department” that would have cost $737,366.

7. Family’s Values Led Bradshaw to Life’s Mission - Friday, May 10, 2013

Fittingly, Kenya Bradshaw can trace her life’s mission back to her childhood and a family that valued public service.

8. Hopson Says Merger Not Reason for Staff Cuts - Tuesday, May 07, 2013

The interim superintendent of Shelby County’s two public school systems says staffing changes at some schools to start with the first school year of the merger aren’t as draconian as they could have been.

9. Commission Receives Schools Financials - Monday, May 06, 2013

Shelby County Commissioners formally get the financials of Shelby County’s two public school systems Monday, May 6, in an action that is not expected to generate much debate.

But the financial statements for the fiscal year that ended June 30 is another step along the path toward the formal merger of both school systems effective at the end of the current fiscal year.

10. School Board Approached by Suburbs - Thursday, May 02, 2013

A new round of talks about the schools merger and municipal school districts is about to begin.

And this time, the countywide school board may be at the table.

Countywide school board attorney Valerie Speakman told school board members Tuesday, April 30, that attorneys for the leaders of Shelby County’s six suburban municipalities have sent her a letter about possible talks on issues that go beyond the consent decree governing the merger.

11. Mays Ponders Changes in Merger Terms - Tuesday, April 30, 2013

U.S. District Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays is considering whether he should change the terms of the 2011 consent decree that so far has governed the path to consolidation of Shelby County’s two public school systems.

12. Schools Merger Saga Faces Busy Day - Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Countywide school board members will discuss and vote Tuesday, April 30, on starting the process of closing 11 more schools, one agenda item during what promises to be a busy day in the schools consolidation saga.

13. Board Continues Delay on Outsourcing Decision - Monday, April 29, 2013

Not every member of the countywide school board who voted against outsourcing custodial services in February is still trying to stop the contract to carry that out.

But enough were at the Thursday, April 25, special meeting of the board that there was another delay in going through with one of the most critical decisions the 23-member body will make about the merger. And another four to six school board members were absent during the series of votes.

14. Smith's Role Central to City's History - Friday, April 26, 2013

Memphis civil rights icon Maxine Smith died Thursday evening at her South Memphis home at the age of 83.

15. Public Defender Role Lets Bell Help Others - Thursday, April 25, 2013

For assistant federal defender David Bell, the urge to be a lawyer was precipitated by the urge to help people.

16. Hopson Proposes Closing 11 Schools In 2014-2015 - Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Memphis-Shelby County Schools superintendent Dorsey Hopson is proposing the countywide school board close 11 more schools, 10 in the city of Memphis and one in Millington.

The closings which include three Memphis high schools – Northside, Carver and Westwood – would take effect in the 2014-2015 school year if approved by the school board.

17. Special Elections Take Shape in Suburbs - Wednesday, April 24, 2013

It looks like 2013 will be an election year in the six suburban towns and cities in Shelby County.

But Memphis may not join the forming set of special elections until very late in the year if at all, according to one estimate by the Shelby County Election Commission.

18. Hopson Eliminates All But One Executive Director's Position - Tuesday, April 23, 2013

The still forming central office of the consolidated school sytem will include only one executive director -- the executive director of safety and security.

Interim schools superintendent Dorsey Hopson has reposted central office positions following his decision last week to eliminate all of one of the executive director positions from the city and county school systems in the front office of the new school system to come.

19. Failed Education Bills on Radar for Next Session - Tuesday, April 23, 2013

NASHVILLE (AP) – In the last few years, Tennessee hasn't shied away from contentious education initiatives as it seeks to remain at the forefront of education reform in the nation.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has even characterized the state's efforts as "courageous leadership."

20. A Look at the Bills That Passed, Failed in 2013 - Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Here is a look at some of the top pieces of legislation that passed or failed during the first session of the 108th Tennessee General Assembly.

WINNERS:

– GUNS IN PARKING LOTS. Allows people with handgun carry permits to store firearms in their vehicles no matter where they are parked. SB0142.

21. Suburban Mayors Preach Patience to Parents - Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Suburban leaders are counseling patience among parents of children in their communities who will be part of the coming merger of the county’s two public school systems.

And they will start moving in May on the process of forming municipal school districts for the 2014-2015 school year.

22. Push Education Bills in Final Days of Session - Tuesday, April 16, 2013

NASHVILLE (AP) – As the 108th Tennessee General Assembly draws to a close, state lawmakers are hoping to push through education proposals that include creating a state panel to authorize charter schools for five counties and a measure that would clear the way for cities to begin forming municipal school systems.

23. U of M President Raines Announces Retirement - Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Shirley C. Raines is retiring at the end of June after 12 years as president of the University of Memphis.

Raines announced her retirement Monday, April 15. John Morgan, the chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents, will name an interim president for the university possibly as early as this week for the transition.

24. State Info Technologists Must Apply to Keep Jobs - Saturday, April 13, 2013

Information technology employees of state government must re-apply for their jobs.

The administration of Gov. Bill Haslam has told IT workers statewide to submit applications if they want to keep the jobs they currently fill.

25. State Info Technologists Must Apply to Keep Jobs - Friday, April 12, 2013

Information technology employees of state government must re-apply for their jobs.

The administration of Gov. Bill Haslam has told IT workers statewide to submit applications if they want to keep the jobs they currently fill.

26. Status of Auto Inspection Talks Varies - Thursday, April 11, 2013

The state of Tennessee is helping facilitate talks between city and county leaders about the coming deadline.

There are conflicting versions of what will happen at the end of the fiscal year. No one is certain or clear about what the federal response will be.

27. Commission Starts County Budget Season - Wednesday, April 10, 2013

The Shelby County Commission opens its budget season Wednesday, April 10, starting down a road of pivotal decisions for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The process begins Wednesday with an overview of county finances from Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell.

28. Schools Begin Front Office Layoff Process - Monday, April 08, 2013

When Shelby County’s two public school systems went to a single superintendent in March, interim superintendent Dorsey Hopson emphasized that his first priority is a budget proposal later this month for the school system that merges formally with the July 1 start of the fiscal year.

29. Health Care Challenge - Monday, April 08, 2013

To cap off National Public Health Week, The Daily News held an in-depth discussion about health care reform and the daunting task of trying to digest and comprehend the new Affordable Care Act, which encompasses more than 2,800 pages of law and more than 100,000 pages of regulations and rules.

30. City-County Swaps Grow More Complex - Monday, April 01, 2013

Memphis City Council members and Shelby County Commissioners are talking about a swap.

The Memphis Animal Shelter would be run by county government if the city would continue funding Memphis police officers in Memphis schools after the merger of Shelby County’s two public school systems.

31. Herbi-Systems Adds Irrigation Service - Saturday, March 30, 2013

Herbi-Systems Inc., the largest privately owned lawn care company in the Memphis area, is adding irrigation maintenance and repair service for residential and small commercial business clients.

32. Cooper Focused on Improving MED Processes - Saturday, March 30, 2013

Several months into her new role at The Regional Medical Center at Memphis, Susan Cooper is focusing on what she calls “quick wins” to improve the quality of patient care throughout the regional health system.

33. Reform Brings Changes to Managed Care - Saturday, March 30, 2013

Historic changes in managed health care are already under way and more are expected over the next year as reform continues to take shape following the Affordable Care Act of 2010.

Since 2010, the trend of alignment between local physicians and hospital systems has swept across the Mid-South, and local hospital professionals brace for more changes and more patients once the new insurance exchanges are online within the next six months.

34. Hopson Goes ‘All In’ on Schools Post - Friday, March 29, 2013

Dorsey Hopson’s answer was quick and concise when he was asked Wednesday, March 27, if he wanted the job of being superintendent of the consolidated school system on a permanent basis.

“No,” Hopson said, as he stood with a “cabinet” of 10 school systems administrators from both school systems who will help him take city and county schools into the merger in the next four months.

35. Herbi-Systems Adds Irrigation Service - Thursday, March 28, 2013

Herbi-Systems Inc., the largest privately owned lawn care company in the Memphis area, is adding irrigation maintenance and repair service for residential and small commercial business clients.

36. Q: Is That Capitol Sink for Muslims? A: No, Mops - Tuesday, March 26, 2013

NASHVILLE (AP) – Sometimes a mop sink is just a mop sink.

Building managers and legislative staffers have sought to reassure some concerned Tennessee lawmakers that recent renovations at the state Capitol did not install special facilities for Muslims to wash their feet before praying.

37. Mays Needs to Grab Control of Merger - Saturday, March 23, 2013

Maybe most of the work of the schools merger has been done by the countywide school board. That’s a big maybe.

Even with that assumption, it is still hard to put a happy face at the top of this assignment that counts for most of a critical grade our elected leaders should get.

38. ‘Teacher Town’ - Saturday, March 23, 2013

There was a time not too long ago when teacher residency programs in Memphis were exercises in isolation. The new teaching recruits in and out of those programs often talked of being overwhelmed in their new school and career environments. But in the larger maelstrom of changes to the face of local public education, the residency programs are growing across all the different types of public schools emerging in advance of the August merger of city and county schools.

39. Poll: Low-Wage Workers, Bosses at Odds on Training - Friday, March 22, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) – As they struggle to get ahead, many low-wage workers are not taking advantage of job training or educational programs that could help them make the leap to better-paying jobs. They are often skeptical about whether such programs are even worth the trouble, a new survey shows.

40. Whalum, Woods Differ on Schools Mediation - Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Two countywide school board members who ran against each other for the same seat on the school board last year agree that the 23-member board is doing the best it can to make decisions about the schools merger.

41. Bill Offered to Create Higher Ed Inspector - Thursday, March 07, 2013

Republican state lawmakers are proposing legislation to create an inspector who would examine operations within Tennessee’s higher education systems.

The legislation scheduled in the House State Government Subcommittee on Wednesday would create the Office of Higher Education Ombudsman within the office of the state Comptroller of the Treasury. It also would establish the position of Higher Education Inspector General within the ombudsman’s office, which is estimated to cost $504,300, according to a legislative summary of the bill.

42. Mays Appoints Masson Schools Special Master - Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Memphis Federal Court Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays appointed former city of Memphis Chief Administrative Officer Rick Masson Tuesday, March 5, as special master overseeing the federal court consent decree on the merger of Shelby County’s two public school systems.

43. Fink Joins Diamond Cos. as Senior Vice President - Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Justin Fink has joined Diamond Cos., an International truck dealership holding company, as senior vice president, truck sales. In the new role, Fink oversees new and used truck sales, and helps develop programs and processes to grow customer relationships, sales and profits.

44. Critical Merger Decision Now Centers on School Board - Wednesday, March 06, 2013

The group with the most direct role in what a consolidated school system will look like and how it will operate is now the group at the center of the ongoing federal lawsuit over the merger and the reactions to it.

45. State Systems Installs Green Ballast Lighting - Saturday, March 02, 2013

State Systems Inc., a privately owned total protection company based in Memphis, has installed Green Ballast Inc.’s light ballasts in its corporate headquarters and warehouse facility at 3755 Cherry Road.

46. Merger Special Master Could Have Different Terms - Friday, March 01, 2013

The Shelby County Commission, the city of Memphis and suburban Shelby County leaders all agree details of the merger of public schools in Shelby County could come down to a federal court order.

But in their filings Wednesday, Feb. 27, in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, there are some differences in how the three parties in the federal lawsuit believe the court might become involved directly in the merger.

47. Mississippi House OKs List of Tax Breaks for Businesses - Thursday, February 28, 2013

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – The Mississippi House has approved tens of millions of dollars' worth of tax breaks for businesses, but it's unclear if the proposals will survive the Senate.

A top budget writer, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Herb Frierson, estimated Tuesday that the proposed tax breaks would be worth at least $50 million a year and he said that's a big problem. Frierson, R-Poplarville, said the $5.5 billion state budget is already stretched thin. He said even if legislators spend all the available cash for the fiscal year that starts July 1, they'd still be $172 million short of paying for critical needs. Taking out another $50 million would put the shortage at $222 million.

48. Commission’s Schools Debate Has Political Crossover - Wednesday, February 27, 2013

When U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays summoned attorneys from all sides in the schools merger case to his conference room Monday, Feb. 25, there was someone else in the room.

49. Schools Questions Dominate County Commission Agenda - Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Shelby County Commissioners approved on the second of three readings Monday, Feb. 25, an ordinance that gives Memphis City Schools teachers living outside Shelby County five years to move within Shelby County.

50. State Systems Installs Green Ballast Lighting - Tuesday, February 26, 2013

State Systems Inc., a privately-owned total protection company based in Memphis, has installed Green Ballast Inc.’s light ballasts in its corporate headquarters and warehouse facility at 3755 Cherry Road.

51. Mays Plans to Appoint Special Master - Monday, February 25, 2013

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays plans to move ahead with appointing a special master to oversee the merger of Shelby County’s two public school systems.

52. Ending of Schools Talks Still Rankles Both Sides - Monday, February 25, 2013

When all sides in the school merger court case gather Monday, Feb. 25, before federal court Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays, they will have lots of time to talk over municipal school districts.

The status conference is the only item on Mays’ calendar Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.

53. Mays Schedules Monday Schools Case Conference - Saturday, February 23, 2013

Memphis Federal Court Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays has called a Monday, Feb. 25, status conference in the Shelby County schools merger case. All sides in the 2-year-old lawsuit are scheduled to appear before Mays at 9:30 a.m.

54. Mays Schedules Monday Schools Case Conference - Thursday, February 21, 2013

Memphis Federal Court Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays has called a Monday, Feb. 25, status conference in the Shelby County schools merger case.

All sides in the 2-year-old lawsuit are scheduled to appear before Mays at 9:30 a.m.

55. Mays Sets Monday Conference in Schools Merger Case - Friday, February 22, 2013

Memphis federal court Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays has called a Monday, Feb. 25, status conference in the Shelby County schools merger case.

All sides in the two-year-old lawsuit are scheduled to appear before Mays at 9:30 a.m.

56. White House Announces Anti-Theft Trade Strategy - Thursday, February 21, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration announced a broad new effort Wednesday to fight the growing theft of American trade secrets following fresh evidence linking cyberstealing to China's military.

57. Hart To Explore Schools Merger Delay - Saturday, February 16, 2013

Countywide school board member Tomeka Hart will offer a resolution at a school board meeting Monday, Feb. 18 that could call for a one year delay in the scheduled July 1 merger of the city and county school systems.

58. School Board Takes Up Merger Personnel Issues - Monday, February 18, 2013

The countywide school board meets Monday, Feb. 18, for a work session that will include a special voting meeting.

The voting meeting involves merger recommendations from the steering committee of top administrators from both school systems.

59. Merger Again Intersects With Nashville - Monday, February 18, 2013

For a third consecutive year in Nashville, the Shelby County schools merger and the suburban reaction to it are on the calendar of the Tennessee legislature.

As the General Assembly finished its legislative week Thursday, Feb. 14, state Senate Republican leader Mark Norris of Collierville introduced several bills, some of them captions to be added to as needed that would make suburban municipal school districts possible.

60. New Chassis Pool Co-Op Launches in Memphis - Friday, February 15, 2013

The trucker-formed North American Chassis Pool Cooperative – the first of its kind – is launching its pilot program in Memphis this year.

The announcement follows the U.S. Surface Transportation Board recently approving the cooperative’s chassis pooling agreement, which will allow it to acquire and share chassis for intermodal freight transportation.

61. Luttrell ‘Alarmed’ Over Budget Numbers - Friday, February 08, 2013

Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell meets Friday, Feb. 8, with Shelby County Schools superintendent John Aitken to look over the still tentative budget plan for the consolidated school system that debuts in August.

62. Businesses, Schools to Participate in Citywide Weight Loss Challenge - Wednesday, February 06, 2013

Memphis businesses, school systems and individuals are gearing up to participate in the HealthyWage $10,000 Team Weight Loss Challenge, a citywide three-month weight-loss contest beginning Feb. 22 that will reward three top-performing Memphis teams with a total of $18,000.

63. School Board Drills Into Merger Budget Numbers - Tuesday, February 05, 2013

Here come the numbers. Countywide school board members have their first and very tentative look at what revenues and expenditures look like for the first fiscal year of the schools merger.

Those numbers are expected to change, perhaps dramatically, as the school board makes critical decisions on staffing ratios, salaries and outsourcing transportation and custodial services.

64. Schools Needs Assessment Committee Disbanded - Saturday, February 02, 2013

Shelby County Commissioners voted Monday, Jan. 28, to disband the 10-year old Needs Assessment Committee that reviewed and prioritized school construction projects for both of the county’s public school systems.

65. Schools Needs Assessment Committee Disbanded - Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Shelby County Commissioners voted Monday, Jan. 28, to disband the 10-year old Needs Assessment Committee that reviewed and prioritized school construction projects for both of the county’s public school systems.

66. Cash Talks of ‘Perfect Storm’ During Reform - Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Kriner Cash says there were big “distractions” that began just before he became Memphis City Schools superintendent four-and-a-half years ago that created a “perfect storm” for his efforts to “transform” the school system.

67. Commission to Disband Schools Capital Needs Group - Monday, January 28, 2013

Shelby County Commissioners vote Monday, Jan. 28, on disbanding the nearly 10-year-old Needs Assessment Committee that advised the commission on funding school construction and renovation projects across both public school systems.

68. Due Process - Saturday, January 26, 2013

One at a time. That is the most noticeable change so far at Memphis-Shelby County Juvenile Court as a result of a landmark settlement in November with the U.S. Justice Department. The children before the court come before the court magistrates one at a time. No more groups of juvenile defendants waiting for their case to come up as other cases are being heard.

69. Sales Tax Referendum Shifts to Late Summer - Thursday, January 24, 2013

A referendum on a half-percent city sales tax hike to fund a city pre-kindergarten expansion and roll back the city property tax rate by 20 cents would happen in August or September instead of May.

70. Schools Merger Begins Move Into Parental Reality - Thursday, January 24, 2013

Countywide school board chairman Billy Orgel noticed lots of parents of school children from the county outside of Memphis at the annual camp-out for optional school enrollment over the long weekend.

71. School Board Looks At Aug. 5 Merger Classroom Start - Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Countywide school board members moved closer Tuesday, Jan. 22, to a calendar for the first year of the merger of Shelby County’s two public school system.

The first day of classes for the merged school district would be August 5 with teachers returning to work on July 29.

72. Council Preps for Late Summer Sales Tax Hike Referendum - Wednesday, January 23, 2013

A referendum on a half percent city sales tax hike to fund a city pre kindergarten expansion and roll back the city property tax rate by 20 cents would happen in August or September instead of May.

73. Embry-Riddle Growing to Meet Local Demand - Monday, January 21, 2013

The Memphis campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is preparing to expand its number of degree programs in the first part of this year, with classes tailored specifically for working adults.

74. Final Bell - Saturday, January 19, 2013

From the moment he became Memphis City Schools superintendent, Kriner Cash had competition.

“I’ve been fighting since I got here,” he said in the early stages of what winds up as a five-year tenure that officially comes to an end July 31.

75. AP IMPACT: Deficient Levees Found Across America - Friday, January 18, 2013

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Inspectors taking the first-ever inventory of flood control systems overseen by the federal government have found hundreds of structures at risk of failing and endangering people and property in 37 states.

76. Luttrell Preparing for County Tax Hike - Thursday, January 17, 2013

A county property tax hike is probably on the way, according to Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell.

77. Health Care Alignment Trend Accelerates - Wednesday, January 16, 2013

The trend for alignment between hospital systems and private physicians hit the Mid-South in mid-2010 and has gained momentum since.

The area’s three major hospital systems – Baptist Memorial Health Care, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare and Saint Francis Healthcare – are padding their physician rosters with primary care doctors and specialists by acquiring practices in strategic locations throughout the Memphis market.

78. Schools Security Plan Emphasizes Consistency - Monday, January 14, 2013

While many of the most controversial issues of the coming merger of Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools are still to be decided, the issue of how to handle school security appears to be settled.

79. Time Running Out for Real Decisions on Schools - Saturday, January 12, 2013

Change is nothing new for parents when it comes to education. School attendance zone boundaries change as schools fill up or empty out. Teachers and principals who make a difference retire or move. Schools get new programs with teachers and leaders coming in who start to make a difference.

80. Making Sense of the Merger - Saturday, January 12, 2013

There are several certainties for public education in Shelby County when the new school year begins in August.

Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools will be consolidated into a single countywide system and there will be more competition than most Memphians can remember in their lifetimes for that single consolidated school system.

81. Tennessee Fights Transparency for Child Welfare Agency - Tuesday, January 08, 2013

NASHVILLE (AP) – The Tennessee Department of Children's Service has been reporting to a federal court for more than a decade on how it is handling foster care, yet it faces no such scrutiny of its handling of children suffering from abuse or neglect.

82. Lawmakers to Resume Education Focus in New Session - Tuesday, January 08, 2013

NASHVILLE (AP) – Legislation that would allow parents to decide the fate of a struggling school is among several education-related proposals lawmakers are likely to discuss during the 108th Tennessee General Assembly that convenes Tuesday.

83. Schools Talks to Resume in Private - Wednesday, January 02, 2013

Private talks aimed at settling the federal lawsuit over municipal school districts are expected to resume with the end of the holiday season.

All sides in the legal matter had met behind closed doors at least twice after U.S. District Court Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays ruled in late November that all moves taken in 2012 toward forming municipal school districts were void. He ruled the 2012 state law allowing leaders in Shelby County’s six suburban towns and cities to move ahead with their plans immediately violated the Tennessee Constitution.

84. Supreme Court Rules Teacher Wrongly Fired - Saturday, December 29, 2012

The Tennessee Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion, has ruled the old Memphis City Schools board acted improperly in 2007 when it fired a tenured teacher who took extended sick leave without written charges or a termination hearing.

85. Turning the Page - Saturday, December 29, 2012

It’s that time of year again. It’s that time when journalists across the fruited plain collectively try and make God laugh – with our prognostications, of course, about the year ahead and of what might be.

86. State Supreme Court Rules Teacher Improperly Fired - Friday, December 28, 2012

The Tennessee Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion, has ruled the old Memphis City Schools board acted improperly in 2007 when it fired a tenured teacher who took extended sick leave without written charges or a termination hearing.

87. ‘Banner Year’ for Logistics Industry - Friday, December 28, 2012

Positive momentum far outweighed the negative in the local logistics and distribution industry during 2012, as city officials and business leaders continued elevating Memphis’s status as world logistics hub.

88. New Technology Needed for Online Student Testing - Saturday, December 22, 2012

Tennessee schools need to upgrade technology in time for new online student assessments in the 2014-2015 school year.

According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, there’s no clear indication yet where the money is coming from.

89. Cutting-Edge Road Show - Thursday, December 20, 2012

Medtronic Inc. recently unveiled its new Catalyst mobile educational center, part of a small fleet of high-tech vehicles that the company uses to take hands-on training and education directly to spinal surgeons and other health care professionals across the country.

90. New Technology Needed for Online Student Testing - Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Tennessee schools need to upgrade technology in time for new online student assessments in the 2014-2015 school year.

According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, there’s no clear indication yet where the money is coming from.

91. Suburbs to Discuss Schools Agreement - Friday, December 14, 2012

There will be plenty to discuss Friday, Dec. 14, when suburban leaders sit down with their attorneys to talk about some kind of agreement on the terms under which schools in the six suburban municipalities will be part of the merged Shelby County public school system.

92. Countywide School Board Acts on Recommendations - Thursday, December 13, 2012

Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools become a single consolidated school system in August with the start of the 2013-2014 school year.

The countywide school board will get around to hiring a search firm to pick a merger superintendent at its meeting next week. And the goal is to pick a superintendent by mid-February.

93. Huffman Brings Leverage to Possible Mediation - Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Tennessee Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman would bring lots of political leverage with him should he mediate the coming merger of schools in Shelby County.

94. Urban Land Institute: Memphis Recovering Slowly, Behind Nashville - Thursday, December 06, 2012

Memphis’ economy and commercial real estate industry is recovering, but not as fast as other places – like Nashville.

That was the message local professionals heard Tuesday, Dec. 4, at the Urban Land Institute Memphis’ 2013 Real Estate Outlook for the Mid-South.

95. Calls Come to Change Schools Merger Process - Wednesday, December 05, 2012

As suburban mayors were scheduled to meet this week to talk over their options, the consolidation of all public schools in Shelby County that begins in August began to show signs of a shift.

The shift might be to take at least some of the decisions about the schools merger out of the hands of just the countywide school board or to junk the process the board is using. The mayors of the six towns and cities have all indicated they intend to push on for their own school districts, although several have said it is highly unlikely they could form them and open them for classes by August.

96. Commission Approves Pidgeon Land Sale, Weighs Schools Moves - Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Shelby County Commissioners approved Monday, Dec. 3, the purchase of 33.6 acres of land in the Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial Park by Carolyn Hardy for the Hardy Investment Trust.

97. Differences Discussed as Schools Move Ahead - Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Students and public schools in Shelby County’s six suburban towns and cities are almost certainly going to be part of the consolidated Shelby County public school system that debuts in August.

98. Board Votes to Close, Convert Schools - Monday, December 03, 2012

Countywide school board chairman Billy Orgel warned school administrators that they may be pushed aside if they don’t come up with recommendations that produce more efficiencies and save more money for the soon-to-be-merged school systems.

99. The Next Steps - Monday, December 03, 2012

About a half hour before the ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays in the municipal school district lawsuit, the chairman of the countywide school board called for his board and the school boards for the six suburban municipal school districts to get together.

100. School Board Starts Process on School Closings-Transformations - Friday, November 30, 2012

Countywide school board members voted Thursday, Nov. 29, to begin the process of considering the closing of four elementary schools in western Memphis and the conversion of two other inner city schools in what amounts to a move to compete with the Achievement School District.