Who Has Signed the Cradle-to-Career Pledge?
You may recall an edition of this newsletter in February that introduced the “Cradle-to-Career Promise”—a pledge we hoped that candidates for Shelby County elected positions would take to show their support for expanding public Pre-K and Full-Service Community Schools, as well as bridging the workforce gap and improving governmental collaboration.
With early voting starting next Wednesday (April 15th), we wanted to update you with a list of candidates for County Commission and Shelby County Mayor who have signed the pledge.
MSCS Audit and Where We Go From Here
The much-anticipated preliminary findings of the state-funded audit of MSCS were released this week during a press conference headlined by Lt. Governor Randy McNally and Speaker Cameron Sexton. The audit covered FY2022 - FY2024 and found significant systemwide challenges in governance, internal controls, documentation, and procurement practices.
This critical moment calls for focus, collaboration, and a commitment from our entire community.
How Do We Solve Population Decline?
Last month, Mayor Paul Young broke with the tradition observed by recent mayors of Memphis by acknowledging the fact that the city’s population is in steady decline. Now, a new state law could change the way sales tax revenue is allocated to municipalities based on what proportion of Tennesseans live there.
Population loss affects more than sales tax revenue: it also means less revenue in property taxes and fewer patrons for local businesses. So what do we do about this?
Connecting K-12 with career opportunities to create purposeful pathways for students
When we think about “mobility” for high school students, our first thoughts are often about driver’s licenses, cars, and how teenagers physically get from place to place. But what about their ability to be economically mobile after they graduate from high school?
Mobility = Mobility
MATA has officially extended its fare-free pilot through March 31, with further expansion beyond that possible as well. The city council also approved a measure to reallocate millions of dollars from the Bus Rapid Transit system to shore up MATA’s existing operations.
MATA has long been underfunded compared to the need across Memphis. Ridership has dwindled as routes have been cut, and access has been hard to achieve for our sprawling city. Without physical mobility, we will never achieve economic mobility, so how do we fix Memphis’ public transit?