Quote in Commercial Appeal — Charter Commission

Quote in Commercial Appeal — Charter Commission

Chris Patterson is a member of the Metro Charter Commission.  He was quoted in today’s Memphis Commercial Appeal:

Millington Mayor Richard Hodges passed out a list of small towns’ concerns about metro government, ranging from the quality of ambulance service to tax rates. He asked what guarantee there is that the Memphis and Shelby County school systems won’t merge.

Rev. Ralph White asked why the school systems should be separate. “I think we would want all of our children to have the same education,” he said.

That prompted a response by member Chris Patterson, who said the public wouldn’t accept it: “(If we keep talking about schools), the practical reality is this thing is doomed before it starts.”

The group is drafting a proposed plan for a combined Memphis and Shelby County government. It voted last year not to include a school merger in the proposed combined government that it will present to voters later this year.