Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton has sent two strong signals that he intends to get more involved in the affairs of Memphis City schools.

One was as he assertively and decisively brushed aside district indecision and took charge of school safety. The other was a letter that he mailed about the same time to the board of commissioners that signaled his deep concern about the district.

All in all, it sent the message that if the five-term mayor is focusing these days on his legacy, he’s defining it in terms of Memphis City Schools.

Closing The Loop

It brings a distinct symmetry to the Herenton public career, which began as a elementary school teacher in Memphis City Schools in 1963, as the youngest elementary school principal at the age of 28, and finally as deputy superintendent and superintendent where he served for 13 years.

These days, his 16 years as mayor overshadow his 29 years as an educator, but it’s worth remembering that in those days, he was considered a hot prospect for most major urban districts searching for new superintendents.

It seemed apparent to his closest advisors that he was channeling his earlier educator’s experience last week when he announced that he would put metal detectors and more policeman in city middle and high schools. And, by the way, if any principals had a problem with it, they were had better get out of his way.

Best Of Times And Worst Of Times

It was an impressive performance and reminded us of what Mayor Herenton looks like at his best. Unfortunately, it came within hours of a reminder of what he looks at his worst with a series of questionable key appointments used as rewards for political loyalists. Perhaps, the defiance (some say arrogance) that rests at the center of his personality were at the heart of both, but at least in the case of school safety, he cut through school board politics to mandate a policy to combat the recent school shootings.

If there was ever a dichotomy of leadership, it was the difference between Mayor Herenton’s take charge attitude and Memphis City Schools Commissioner Kenneth Whalum call a few hours earlier to shut down Memphis’ schools. We could only assume that if he were the mayor and were faced with crime problems, he’d simply put Memphis on lock down.

If Memphis City Schools was unsure that Mayor Herenton was trying to send a message, that was resolved when the school officials received one of the mayor’s rare letters. In it, according to school officials, he left no doubts that he’s not satisfied with the district and that he intends to get more involved.

Education Mayor

Meanwhile, 210 miles to the east, the new mayor of Nashville, Karl Dean, is becoming the quintessential education mayor. Since taking office, he has demanded greater academic strides in his city’s consolidated system, he has called for a voice in the selection of the new superintendent, he has hinted at changes in the operations of the Nashville district, he has held town hall meetings on ways to improve schools and he has almost daily kept public education at the top of his city’s agenda and on the front page of his city’s newspapers.

Perhaps, Mayor Herenton is warming up for his final act by doing the same. It would be hard to watch his performance and read his letter and believe that he’s not deadly serious about one thing: that Memphis City Schools is adrift and in need of strong leadership if it is to improve the academic performance of its 115,000 students.

In taking a more assertive approach toward the school district after 16 years, Mayor Herenton need only look to Chicago to see that it can be done. There, Mayor Richard M. Daley – in his sixth term and 19th year – aggressively urged school leaders to challenge the status quo.

Six-term Enthusiasm

“There is much more to be done before our parents, taxpayers, business and community leaders are confident that Chicago’s public education system is producing the workers and leaders of tomorrow that they, and our city, need. Today, instead of patting ourselves on the back, I want to re-challenge every one in the school system to accomplish even more for our students over the months and years ahead.”

And that’s coming from a mayor who essentially transformed the entire school district of his city, installing a mayor-led district and an appointed school board. If he can continue to be motivated by the potential for improvement, it’s hard to argue that Memphis should not be doing the same.

Hopefully, another benefit of Mayor Herenton driving a stake in the ground on school security is that any discussion about a Memphis City Schools Police Department is now dead. The Memphis City School’s 61-page “Feasibility Study on the Creation of a Memphis City Schools Police Department” is a feasibility study in name only.

A Preconceived Conclusion

Because it apparently was to become the basis for proposed state legislation allowing the district to create its own police department, the feasibility study was a conclusion in search of a justification. In pursuit of it, the report selected so-called comparable districts that all just happened to have police departments – Austin, Baltimore, Dallas, Duval County (FL), Indianapolis, San Diego and Pinellas County (FL).

It offered up the size of budgets and the size of the departments. Glaring in its omission was any evidence that the police departments reduced crime and increased school safety, or of any alternative approaches used in other districts.

The report called for doubling the number of officers in city schools – taking them from security guards to police officers – and increasing the security budget by 50 percent to $10.4 million.

Making The Real Deal The Real Deal

It all sounds eerily similar to the justifications used in Shelby County Government when it added its own police department. Based on the budgetary track record of that decision, the district should assume that its budgetary projections are significantly too low.

At the end of the day, it just seems that at a time when Memphis City Schools should put all of its attention on attacking the problem of 100 schools that do not now meet state benchmarks, the last thing it needs is another operational distraction. In fact, based on the controversies that plague its operational departments now, school officials would be wise to consider contracts with other public entities for all support operations.

That way, the district could keep a laser-like focus on the academic achievement of its students. After all, its ultimate success will be determined by how well it prepares students for work and life, not how well nutrition services is run.

Perhaps, Mayor Herenton would be interested in being part of that conversation, too.