Suburbs

Since this is the last Suburban Spotlight until Tuesday’s Election Day, just a request — go to the polls and vote. Or if you already took advantage of early voting, good on you.

Even if you are bummed out by the attack ads for the national and state offices in Tennessee and Mississippi, there are a number of local suburban races that deserve your attention. Your vote can help decide the future of the outlying municipalities.

There are elections for mayors in Bartlett, Germantown and Lakeland, although Bartlett incumbent David Parsons can already celebrate his victory since he is unopposed. Down ballot, there are alderman and school board races that deserve your attention.

Finally, if you decide going to the polls isn’t worth your time — especially with the significant early voting window — in my mind, you surrender your right to complain about anything. You chose not to express your convictions; you shouldn’t express your opinion.

Yes, I know that is not the way it works. And your First Amendment rights provide you the avenue to voice your feelings, whether you vote or not.

Every election cycle, people shake their heads in astonishment at the low voter turnout, the low percentage of eligible voters who take the time to vote their choice.

Yeah, in some cases, your candidate may seem to face an insurmountable chance at winning. But if you choose not to bother, they will never get enough votes to overcome the favorite or possibly even be a factor.

And if you need any information on candidates, we have produced a Voter’s Guide for you to check, and we will have coverage of the races Tuesday night.

Last week, it was John Threadgill, head of the Bartlett Area Chamber of Commerce, who announced his retirement after the start of the year.

This week, David Stephens, the only superintendent the Bartlett City Schools system has ever known, said he will step down next summer at the end of this school year.

As we pointed out in Michael Waddell’s story on Stephens planned departure, that leaves only Ted Horrell of the Lakeland School System and Jason Manuel of Germantown Municipal School District, as the original school districts’ superintendents still holding their positions. The others in Arlington, Collierville and Millington have turned over a time or two for various reasons.

As I recall from when the suburban districts split from the Shelby County Schools system, Stephens and John Aitken, who had served as the SCS superintendent, were high on several cities’ lists to run their schools. Aitken went to Collierville, and that seemed to work for both. Aitken lived out that way. And I feel certain that Bartlett wanted Stephens since he had roots in that area, including serving as principal at Bolton High, north of the suburb.

Those factors — along with Stephens’ history working through athletics and school administration over the years — seemed to make him an ideal fit for the birth of a new district. A lot of experience in a lot of areas.

During the district’s 13-year existence under Stephens, Bartlett has started a Ninth Grade Academy, built a $70 million renovation of Bartlett High and started construction on a new Altruria Elementary, with a price tag approaching $35 million, to replace the 50-year-old structure.

I’d comment on the test scores for Bartlett students under Stephens’ watch, but I rely on Laura Testino and Abigail Warren to decipher that data. Besides, a lot of educators criticize the testing process anyway.

The bottom line is, Stephens steered Bartlett City Schools in the right direction from the start, setting the foundation for the district’s next superintendent to follow. - Suburbs editor Clay Bailey

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