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>> female announcer: This is a
production of WKNO, Memphis.
Production funding for "Behind
the Headlines" is made possible
in part by..
>> Barnes: As we come to the end
of 2012, a look back at the
biggest stories of the year
tonight on "Behind the
Headlines."
>> (instrumental music)
♪♪♪
>> Barnes: I'm Eric Barnes,
publisher of the Memphis Daily
News.
Thanks for joining us.
Joined tonight to look back at
the biggest stories of the year
with Bill Dries form the Memphis
Daily News.
Andy Meek also of the Memphis
Daily News.
Eleanor Boudreau, WKNO-FM
and Jackson Baker from the
Memphis Flyer.
Thank you all for being here.
We start.
No big surprise, the biggest
story of the year was the
schools in all its forms.
I guess I'll start with you,
Bill, to kind of hit.
And there's so many big mile
stones that continue to go on.
But let's start with you in
terms of a review of all that
did happen in this past year.
>> Dries: Well, there was a lot
that happened.
There's still a lot more to come
in terms of the school's merger.
And it's broader than the
school's merger.
It's the rise of municipal
school districts and the
question about whether those
districts will arise or not.
Basically this year we had some
decisions that were made.
The Transition Planning
Commission delivered it's report
of 172 recommendations for what
the merged school system should
look like starting in August of
2013.
That was delivered to the school
board.
The school board is still to act
on a number of those decisions
In fact, they have not taken
final action on any of those
recommendations in terms of
putting them in a budget for
next school year as we speak on
this show today.
>> Barnes: Yeah and that
includes those recommendations.
Everything from, you know,
nuanced issues of curriculum to
closing 21 schools.
You know, redoing the bus
contracts, the janitorial
services.
You know, trying to save $100
million in doing things
differently that would involved
a tremendous number of difficult
decisions.
And even then, you know, funding
is a big question mark.
So we've been talking about this
for, you know, the whole year as
these things have been going on.
The other thing we have is the
superintendant decision.
And we've got a double headed
situation right now.
Let's go back to an interview we
did in August with David Pickler
formally of the county school
board, now of the unified school
board, when he was talking about
what next with the
superintendant.
>> Dries: Do you think that the
full board can vote on a plan
whether it's the TPC plan or
some plan that mixes in other
parts?
Can you all get a vote by the
end of August?
>> Pickler: Oh, I think that's
highly unlikely.
We need to.
We need to begin that process.
We need to have already selected
a superintendant quite frankly.
And it appears that Tuesday
night we're at least going to
approve a process for
determining with the selection
process it's going to be like
for that superintendant.
And that report is not expected
until the end of September.
>> Barnes: And so we have,
Eleanor, I mean, a process that
has frustrated a lot of people.
That you have the two
superintendants.
They've now decided, you know,
they've recently decided that
they're about to sign a
contract, I should say, with the
search to find the
superintendant.
A lot of people saying-Why don't
we just hire John Aitken from
the former Shelby County
Schools?
No one really saying that Kriner
Cash is going to continue.
And frustration-What's your take
on that?
>> Boudreau: Yeah, well one
thing that school board did do
this year is they decided not to
renew Cash's contract.
So I think it's pretty clear
that he's not going to be the
pick because of that move.
But they still have yet to, you
know, sort of set-up a really
definitive process for how
they're going to get to their
next superintendant.
And I think, you know, Aitken is
definitely going to be
considered but whether or not
he'll be chosen depends on who
the other candidates are and
what the process is which we
don't really know yet.
>> Barnes: And Jackson, your
take?
I mean, the biggest parts to the
biggest story of the year?
Maybe the ruling.
I mean, the ruling by Hardy Mays
and the ongoing decisions he has
to make.
>> Baker: There's no question
that because that put everything
in limbo.
And given that August '13
eventually will get here and
there will be a school year
beginning then and there will be
a unified system that never,
never, never proclamations you
hear from some of the suburban
mayors.
Some of the, may end up and
their proclamations may end up
rethinking whether they can live
with this unified system.
Mentioned John Aitken.
If he had been hired at a time
when there was mood to hiring,
back in the spring actually,
they might have eased their way
towards their making their peace
with such prospect.
I think frankly his prospect for
being names superintendant are
in decline now.
I think that was the time to
have done that.
We're going with this search
process.
However, the more continues,
then the less likely someone
local will beat him.
>> Dries: They're scheduled to
make the decision in February.
That's when the vote is
scheduled to happen on a
superintendant and a contract of
being negotiated.
Let's remember that the
Transition Planning Commission
and a number of political
leaders, not the least of which
was Shelby County Mayor Mark
Luttrell, thought that the
school board should make this
decision on a superintendant no
later than the end of the fall
which is right about where we
are now as we do this program.
>> Barnes: Right, and you've
already got-I'm sorry Jackson.
But you've already got, you
know, reports of, you know,
frustration from the board
saying that it is administrators
under the superintendants who
are slowing down some of this
process, some of these
decisions, the 172
recommendations.
And again, the critics saying-
Look, if you've got this
difficult situation in any
circumstance, but when you've
got two superintendants, it's
not clear that either of them
will be there.
This is not the way to make
these hard decision.
>> Baker: And that February date
will be inclined to float.
>> Barnes: I mean, based on
history, we would say otherwise.
>> Dries: I think if it floats
much that the criticism is
really going to ramp up.
I think there's a good
possibility that by February,
the political pressure could be
on the school board to jump the
process that they have in place
now for coming up with a merger
plan and go to some other
alternative method that is
quicker that the bottom of line
of which will be to give parents
the reassurances they need about
the next school year.
>> Barnes: And even with all
that going on, we also had new
approaches to dealing with
failing schools and Tennessee
statewide.
And the state decided to set up
an Achievement School District.
Some 70-something schools that
are on the failing list, many of
those, the vast majority of them
in Memphis.
I was able to sit down with
Chris Barbeck who is the head of
that achievement school
district.
And he talked a little bit about
the responsibility and approach
that they'll have to taking over
those schools.
>> Barbeck: There will be six
schools that we're working in
next year.
Three of those will be in
Frasier.
There's also two charter schools
that we work in other parts of
Memphis.
And then we'll also have a
school.
So the schools that we'll be
running as achievement schools
are all focused in Frasier.
And the charters-There's one
charter working in Binghampton
and then another charter working
in North Memphis.
>> Barnes: So that has gotten
underway.
But even there, there's still
some uncertainties.
You know, how quickly that whole
process will grow.
As he said, some ultimately nine
schools are getting taken over
by the achievement school
district in the Memphis area,
moved in to kind of a charter
school model.
What more do we know now, Bill?
>> Dries: We know that we'll
have a school system in which we
have roughly half run directly
by the ASD, the other half run
by charter school operations.
And that has really impacted the
move to merger as well because
there's definitely more
competition among the public
schools with the ASD schools and
the charter schools in the mix.
>> Barnes: Right, right.
Last thoughts on the school
situation?
I mean, we look ahead.
We've got, Jackson, a couple
rulings coming up probably in
the first part of the year from
Hardy Mays.
Your thoughts on that?
>> Baker: If he decides that the
final portion of Norris-Todd
which is what allows the special
school districts in Shelby
County only, if he allows that
to go down the way that he ruled
in the subsequent legislation.
Then again, I think that some of
the suburbs are going to rethink
their desperate need for
independence.
I think you could have a
somewhat larger unified district
than we're thinking of.
>> Barnes: And that's where you
get in to the kind of paths to
autonomy, the idea that the
suburban schools could be
charter schools like the failing
schools, like all the charter
schools and that sort of thing.
And that's another story as we
move on.
But from this part year, the
rise of charter schools has been
pretty remarkable.
I think, you know, when the
state took the cap off those-no
more limits on the number of
charter schools in the state.
If you remember back, there was
some resistance from the city
and the county and the school
boards and kind of slowed down
some of the applications but I
think next year, you'll see the
flood gates open.
And potentially, the Willie
Herenton schools working with
the juvenile courts.
Is that right?
>> Dries: Right, that's planned
for next school year to open up
a north side high school as
well.
And let's not forget the
Governor will probably be at
least backing, if not
introducing, a bill to permit
school vouchers.
>> Barnes: Yeah, your thoughts
on the Herenton?
>> Baker: Well, I'm going to
come in a little different
direction.
I'm going to go ahead and spin
the prediction I was going to
save for the end of the show.
The ever-busy Mark Norris who
does what he can every year for
the suburbs, he will be
producing legislation that will
greatly enlarge and change the
nature of the charter school
process because, you know, that
Nashville school that was
ordered by the state to accept a
charter school.
I think you're going to find
that as another door to open for
his kind of legislation.
That's the next move that
suburbs will make.
>> Barnes: I think you're right.
And I think as we go, we think
looking ahead to next year, I
think the rise of charter
schools is going to be
remarkable.
And that's probably a multi-year
thing.
And it's exactly on that front,
Up 'til now, we in Memphis have
thought of charter schools
because we've seen them as, you
know, entities that step in.
And failing schools be it
through the ASD or just invited
in.
And they've done some remarkable
things.
And some have bottomed out.
I mean, charter schools aren't a
perfect solution but overtime,
like the school in Nashville,
you'll get companies coming to
Memphis that are more schools of
choice.
They're not just about helping
kids who are in failing schools.
They're about competing with
private schools.
They're about competing with the
optional schools.
And that will really change the
face of not just the suburban
areas but I think the city, as
well.
So that's my prediction such as
it is for next year.
We move on to another big story
this year.
As always, Jackson, there were
numerous elections.
Too many, as I always say,
because there were constant
elections and you can't keep
track of them.
But your thoughts looking back
on some of the big moments in
election history in 2012?
>> Baker: Well I want you to
know that next year is our off-
year.
We're going to have about three
special elections.
There were two different
tendencies going in different
directions in the election
process as concerns us.
Statewide, the Democratic Party
was virtually rendered null and
void.
They ended up redistricting
which was under the control of
the Republicans who were
dominate in the legislature
already.
Really accentuated that process.
There are now seven Democrats in
the state senate, 33-member
state senate.
They actually had an election a
couple of weeks ago for
Democratic leader.
Jim Kyle of Memphis was
reelected senate Democratic
leader of a vote of 4 to 3.
When you think about it, they
probably conducted that election
on a phone booth.
And in the house it's not much
better.
24 members out of 99.
So the Republicans have a super
majority in both houses.
The election established them as
the one party that really
governs in Tennessee.
Locally, however, things were
different.
Shelby County not only of course
went for Obama.
Of course, the nation is going
in a different direction than
the state.
But Shelby County is going in
the same direction as the
nation.
Two Democrats who were thought
to be in danger back in August
running for county seats,
Cheyenne Johnson the Assessor
and Ed Stanton, the general
sessions clerk, were thought to
be in danger because of the
municipal elections were going
on then.
They won which indicates that
the Democratic Party still has a
niche here in Shelby County
which will endure.
>> Barnes: Well, and one thing
that's interesting about that
and I want to come back to the
state situation you described.
But let's stay local for a
second.
You do still have on a local
level this kind of mix and match
and these greyer areas of who's
Republican and who's Democratic.
I mean, we talked before about
Mike Ritz, the head of the
County Commission.
A Republican who has fought this
suburbs', you know, desire to
separate who is by some accounts
is, you've joked, a rhino.
You've repeated that people have
said that about him.
>> Baker: That's what his fellow
Republicans call him.
>> Dries: And he lives in
Germantown.
>> Barnes: I mean, what do we
make of that?
Is that a good thing maybe that
there aren't these kind of
clear-cut lines between left and
right, Republican-Democrat?
>> Baker: Well, I think it is a
good thing because there was a
time at least when the county
commission, even though they had
partisan elections, was
partisan-free on most issues.
Now basically, the division on
the County Commission is not
Republican-Democratic.
It's urban-suburban.
And Ritz who lives in
Germantown, nevertheless, the
majority of his constituents
live in the city of Memphis.
And he has adopted their point
of view.
He has become a leader on that
County Commission of a sort we
haven't seen in a while.
He's led on the IP issue.
He's the one that kept that IP
issue within bounds frankly with
the pressure he put on.
I look for him to be making a
similar moves with regard to how
we handle TIFs in the future.
>> Barnes: TIFs, the tax income
financing which is where they
steer money from various
districts in to redevelopment.
They've used it downtown to
great extent and so on.
>> Baker: And so it's not really
a partisan thing.
But Ritz, by the way, when Mike
Carpenter was on the commission,
he was one of those that agreed
that Mike Carpenter was a rhino
Republican.
Now, he's the one that has that
label.
>> Meek: Jackson made the point
about looking at Cheyenne and
bucking the trend of somebody.
I've just always wondered.
You know, you get down to the
local levels.
Is there a Democratic way to be
a property assessor?
Is there a Republican way?
Some of that seems to really not
matter in this.
That may explain some of the
dichotomy Jackson noticed.
>> Dries: I think there was
something else at work and that
was that neither Cheyenne
Johnson nor Ed Stanton conceded
the Republican vote to their
challengers.
They campaigned in Republican
areas.
They frankly worked harder than
their Republican challengers did
precisely because they knew
there was going to be a big turn
out in the mostly Republican
suburbs.
And they won.
>> Barnes: I think also along
those lines and talking about
what does it mean to be
Republican or Democratic at a
very local level.
I mean, Mark Luttrell who was
very involved in the Transition
Planning Committee conversations
and pushing as we just said for,
you know, whole leverage back.
You know, we don't want to give
the school system a blank check
until we know they're going to
put a good school system in
place.
But there's still this big gap.
And he was very clear in a an
interview we did with him and
interviews he did with other
people.
He said-"I'm not afraid to raise
taxes.
I didn't sign a no tax pledge.
I would never sign a no tax
pledge."
And that's not the kind of thing
you hear.
But he said-"I just want it to
be an effective school system
and if we're going to spend that
money, we're going to spend it,
you know, effectively."
Eleanor?
>> Boudreau: Yeah, I think that
the divisions when it comes to
schools that are the most
meaningful are the city and
county line.
It's not strictly Republican or
Democrat.
I think that's where you see,
you know, Republicans like Mark
Luttrell, the County Mayor, and
Mike Ritz on the Shelby County
Commission have had opposite
opinions on different issues
with schools.
Well, Mike Ritz represents a
district that is majority in the
city of Memphis.
And Mark Luttrell is the County
Mayor.
So even though they're both
Republicans, a lot of those
issues split city to county.
They're not really party issues.
>> Barnes: Right, and let me do
one more thing.
You mentioned the state.
Just one last minute, Jackson.
We look ahead.
We talked about the super
majorities in the Republicans.
They've got the governor.
They've got, you know, the
house.
They've got the senate.
Big majorities.
But looking ahead, you know,
that's when sometimes
legislatures-and it happened to
the Democrats years ago-when
they over reach and when the
divisions among.
And a lot of people would say,
up in the state capital, a lot
of the time the division is not
Republican-Democrat.
It's actually urban and rural.
What's your take on how this
sessions going to go?
The voucher bill is going to
come up probably, school's
voucher.
There's going to be a gun bill.
Your sense of how that plays out
with these big super majorities?
>> Baker: I don't know if
there's going to be much
division on Republican ranks on
the voucher bill.
The governor had a task force.
I saw Brian Kelsey the other
day.
He thinks he feels confident
that the governor would allow
him to bring an administration
bill.
He already has a bill on the
hopper.
The controversy is going to come
again on the gun issue because
there was a huge controversy
last year in which you had the
business Republicans on the one
side, the NRA Republicans tea
party types on the other.
That is not going to go away
because even though the governor
has said he thinks some kind of
bill will pass, some compromise,
it's hard to see what that
compromise is going to be.
I don't think FedEx is still
going to be crazy about having
guns locked in cars in parking
lots.
So the business community, I
think, is still going to look at
that.
And, you know, as one of the
Republicans who is on the other
side of the issue said-"Listen,
if business says you can't bring
a yo-yo on their property, you
can't bring a yo-yo on the
property, much less a gun."
>> Barnes: Right, right.
You mentioned FedEx.
And that segues in to another,
you know, area looking back at
the last year.
The country came officially out
of the recession, Bill, but, you
know, still a tough year,
without a doubt.
And changes at FedEx-Let's start
there.
Changes at IP.
Changes at some of the big
corporate players.
But let's start with the FedEx
experiences last year.
>> Dries: Well, FedEx and Fred
Smith as founder and CEO began
2012 very optimistic about the
prospects for recovery from the
recession.
They were seeing economic growth
in the form of economies joining
the global economy, mainly
China.
That changed dramatically during
the year.
And as a result, we end the year
with FedEx about to hand out
some buy-out packets to probably
several thousand employees
within the United States which
is part of FedEx Express really
paying the price for this shift
in slow down in the global
economy that we've seen in the
last year.
Very real results locally on
that.
>> Barnes: Lets move to a couple
of other business stories from
this past year, Andy.
One is a recent story.
International Paper is going to
stay in Memphis.
Tell us a little bit about that.
>> Meek: Well, they've acquired
a competitor.
They are growing and need more
space frankly.
You know, when the economy's
bad, that's especially a time
when incentives become more
paramount to these kinds of
moves.
It was originally looking like
they were going to try for an
extraordinarily long tax freeze
amount that, you know, gave a
lot of people pause.
That since has been dialed back
this week.
The good news is they're going
to stay here.
They're applying for tax
incentives to help make that
happen.
So, you know, it's a win.
>> Barnes: When you talk about
the tax incentives, there's a
number of business.
There are many businesses and I
won't hit all of them.
But that's been more of a topic
of debate, in particular after
Electrolux which I think came
through in probably 2010, 2011.
But broke ground this summer,
started hiring it's first
people.
Huge amount of tax incentives,
you know, involved with that.
Mitsubishi is moving towards
it's plant opening downtown.
Or another one that got a great
deal of tax incentives was
Pinnacle Airlines back-what?
A year and a half ago, Bill?
I can't quite remember when.
When it first got it's
incentives to move Downtown.
A lot of fan fare.
And then this year Pinnacle
ended up in Bankruptcy.
>> Dries: Right, Pinnacle filed
for bankruptcy reorganization in
April.
And the company has had to
rethink it's organization plan
or its reorganization plan
several times because of what's
been happening in the airline
industry in general.
Pinnacle is a regional air
carrier.
Delta Airlines on the other hand
has renegotiated its contract
with airline pilots to the
extent that they can drop the
50-seat and under jets that they
have been flying which Pinnacle
has a lot of in their fleets.
That agreement caused Pinnacle
basically to say we have to
rework our reorganization plan
and go back to our employees and
negotiate wage concessions.
>> Barnes: Yeah and another big
story of the year for, you know,
in the business community but
also affecting families and
everyone is Delta cutting back
dramatically the number of
flights out of Memphis, the
number of direct flights out of
here.
And a lot of concern about where
Delta is going.
But also some amount of hope
that for people who really have
always wanted Southwest to come
in to Memphis in a big way,
Southwest has said that they'll
probably be here.
You had another comment, Andy.
>> Meek: It was about Pinnacle.
There's an expectation that as a
result of the bankruptcy, they
were going to scale down their
real estate in a big dramatic
way.
So if the worst does happen in
Memphis, people are looking at
that in different ways.
Well, they have had this halo
effect in really reinvigorated
the tower that they're in now.
It just causes you to look at
incentives in a whole light
because you might say-"Well, was
that a bad investment if they
leave?"
Well, maybe not if you look at
it in a different way.
>> Baker: The whole Pinnacle
affair if a reminder of just how
transitory some of the feel-good
stories are because a year ago,
we were celebrating Pinnacle
moving downtown.
Kind of like University if
Memphis going in to the Big
Eight.
That's another one.
Big East.
>> Barnes: And that's a business
story in its way because there's
a big economic impact with these
sports teams.
And yeah, I mean, the big story
would have been a month ago if
we had done this show.
We would have said-"Oh, you
know, the University of Memphis
finally going in to one of the
big elite conferences and all
that that brings in terms of
tournament and recognition, the
money coming in with traveling."
Oh, by the way, there's no Big
East.
(laughter)
>> Barnes: Another story along
those lines was business
ownership, local ownership in
part of the Memphis Grizzlies.
You want to touch on that, Andy?
I mean, it was a big year for
that really,
>> Meek: Yes it was.
A young technology company guy
from California who stepped up
and really wanted to buy the
team and has excited a lot of
people.
You mentioned the local
ownership.
A lot of big names involved-
Duncan Williams, Autozone,
Justin Timberlake, Peyton
Manning.
I mean, the list goes on.
They did not do that with the
expectation of making a lot of
money.
The sense you hear from all of
them is this really high-minded.
We wanted to make an investment
in keeping a big civic asset
that everybody loves here in
town.
And that story is continuing.
The Grizzlies this week have
hired ESPN's John Hollinger.
Excited a lot of people to bring
kind of a Moneyball-esque
analytics sort of laser focus to
the team and player evaluation
and things like that.
>> Barnes: And they've been at
the top of the standings for
much of the last month.
>> Meek: I'm told Robert watches
every game either on his iPad or
his laptop.
He travels a lot.
Robert Pera, the new owner.
So, very engaged.
>> Barnes: We'll go around.
We've got just a couple of
minutes left.
Thoughts about looking ahead?
The biggest stories of next
year.
Clearly, I mean, they're going
to involve the schools so may be
it's the biggest stories other
than the schools.
I'm going to start with you,
Eleanor.
>> Boudreau: Well, I mean, the
schools are going to be merged
August of 2013.
When I think about next year,
that's what I think about.
>> Barnes: I mean, you want to
make a prediction on the court
rulings to come or no?
You may not want to.
>> Boudreau: No, I really don't
want to.
But thank you for the offer.
I appreciate it.
>> Barnes: Bill, looking ahead,
big stories for next year?
>> Dries: I think the impact of
vouchers coming.
I think the atmosphere for
changing education and a broader
sense state-wide which will have
a big impact here is going to be
the real story of 2012.
The pace for change is going to
become more aggressive and the
line that separates public from
private education is going to
continue to blur.
>> Barnes: I agree.
I think that's the biggest story
for the next five years.
>> Meek: Economy, no question.
At the time of this taping, the
fiscal cliff still is not
solved.
It's going to impact people just
in a tremendous way no matter
what happens.
The last recessions officially
ended according to the press
release July 2009.
Things are pretty precarious
right now.
>> Barnes: Jackson, looking
ahead?
>> Baker: The diminishing brand
of Tennessee Democrats has a
hope.
That's Craig Fitzhugh of nearby
Ripley.
A state representative who
survived a very stiff from
Republicans in this year's
elections.
And he's indicated he may run
for governor.
He's a very solid guy.
He may lead something of a
renaissance.
>> Barnes: And with just one
last minute, I would go back to
something Andy said.
I mean looking ahead, the real
estate economy this past year
seems by all accounts nationally
and in Memphis, has bottomed
out.
That's a big driver of local
economic growth from mortgages
to construction and so on.
That will be something really to
watch next year.
I'm not going to make a
prediction on that because
housing is too fickle.
And we don't know about the
fiscal cliff.
I mean, that could have a huge
impact on jobs, spending by
businesses like FedEx, spending
taxes for small businesses and
large businesses.
So that really is probably the
way that plays out is going to
actually.
I'm sure people are sick of
hearing about it but it's going
to have a big impact locally.
Thank you all for being here.
Thank you for joining us.
Join us again next week, first
show of the new year.
Thanks again.
Goodnight.
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