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Debate over joint pre‑K ordinance amendment exposes funding uncertainty for classrooms
Summary
A proposed administrative amendment to a joint city‑county pre‑K ordinance — removing a vendor name and adding funding‑subject language — prompted opposition from pre‑K operators who said county funding reductions could force classrooms to close. Operators and school leaders asked for budget amendments and clearer contract instructions before the commission votes.
A proposed amendment to the joint Universal Pre‑K ordinance drew lengthy public comment and sharp questioning at the education committee, where advocates warned that administrative tweaks and recent budget reductions could close classrooms opened last year.
The amendment removes an explicit vendor name from the ordinance and adds a clause that funding is "subject to availability in the budget." Hannah McCarthy of the mayor’s office said the change is an administrative clean‑up meant to align the ordinance with best practices, and that the signed vendor contract is unaffected.
Operators and advocates — including the nonprofit 1st State Memphis, Libertas School of Memphis, Millington officials and others — said that while the amendment may read as administrative, it came after a year of slow contract negotiations that left many operators in limbo. "There are classrooms that will have to close unless we are able to use unspent funds or secure additional allocations," Candice Thomas of 1st State Memphis said, asking commissioners to consider budget amendments and to coordinate city and county funding so pre‑K expansion remains intact.
Commissioners asked for budget exhibits and for legal and purchasing staff to clarify whether unspent FY25 funds can be used to sustain classrooms into FY27. The committee voted to send the ordinance forward without recommendation and asked the administration to provide more detailed funding breakdowns and an implementation plan ahead of a full commission vote.
