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Thursday, October 4, 2012

Schools Matter: Memphis District to Lose $212 Million to Charter Schools by 2016

Schools Matter: Memphis District to Lose $212 Million to Charter Schools by 2016:


Memphis Raising Most Regressive Taxes to Pay for $212 Million Hole Created by Charter Schools

In June we posted on the Gates-SfC plan for school consolidation in Shelby County, which the State report says will cost Shelby County $212,000,000 over the next four years to pay for the segregated charter chain gangs that are being created to contain, separate, and indoctrinate the next generation of the poor in Memphis.

The County solution: raise the sales tax another penny, which will push this most regressive tax (which includes taxing food) to over 10% (TN is #1 in the nation for highest sales tax).  Oh yes, and in the meantime, reduce property taxes so that the immeasurably unfair tax on the poor will be even more so.

Projected take?  About $54 million, which would cover the annual amount estimated by the State  to cover the loss of revenue to fund the new charters.  Meanwhile, the charters under the new State Recovery School District (RSD) (think NOLA) will get to take over the school buildings that are being closed to create charters.

The corporations that run these charters, then, will