Fr8doggie

With the new bid, I was planning to end up in Collierville/Germantown Base Housing by next year. I just found out that the Memphis School District gave up on their not-so-great students and handed their mess over to Shelby Schools. That can't be a good thing. Now I'm unsure if I should even consider the area as schools are important at this stage for my kiddos. My future will be eternal reserve so I was hoping to do the living-in-domicile thing rather than half my life in a crashpad.

If the schools get worse, private schools won't be an option because everyone else will have the same idea and there will be a long waiting list.

This question is not so much for the Memphis haters, but those who live there and accept it..

Do any of you have family or friends working for the schools that have some idea of what lies in the future of this mess?

fdx727pilot

Try moving to base housing south. DeSoto County has some great schools. The property and sales taxes are lower than Memphis/Shelby County. None of the Memphis political craziness gets across the border. The drive to work is no longer than the Germantown/Collierville area. If you care about such things, gun laws are minimal and Carry Permits are easily obtained (always assuming you can pass the background check.) The only real down-side is state income tax. More and more of us are moving south to escape the craziness. My subdivision has 7 or 8 Fedex guys. Come on down and check us out.

Stratosphere

Problem is the craziness is spilling over the border. I live in Horn Lake and am selling my house and looking to go farther south. Right now I am looking in Hernando. Don't buy close to the Memphis border if you come to MS. In border I mean Southhaven, Horn Lake, Olive Branch. Now that just my opinion but I see problems from Mempho spilling over. I pay the income tax and high car tags if you have a newer vehicle because I hate driving on I 240/I 40..I 55 is better for your sanity. Everything fdx727pilot said is right on...Now I do have friends who live in Collierville and all of them have their kids in private school. Expensive but I would do it if you choose to live there.

Fly FDX

Take a look at homeschooling. We did our last kid and wish we did the first two as well. It works great with our lifestyle and it is not as hard or time consuming as one may think for a real quality education without the other risks or outside influences they may face in public schools.

42GO

The private school system is great....a little pricy but when they go to state colleges, it will be a price decrease.

JDriver

Hernando is a great, very quiet small town. It is far enough away from Memphis to not have the drama of Memphis at your doorstep, but close enough to enjoy sitting reserve at home with the family.

I have some friends who send their children to the Hernando Public Schools and they are satisfied.

Not much crime here. The only time I see a police car move with a purpose is when the "Hot Fresh Donuts" sign is turned on, or when its time to squeeze in a quick round of golf while on duty.

Here is the DCS website. DeSoto County Schools | PowerIT

You could try renting a place in base housing until this school issue is resolved.

HotMamaPilot

Same thing in louisville. JCPS is awful. They insist on integrating kids and bussing them all over the city to go to different schools. It's nothing short of criminal. I Pay east end taxes, so I Should get east end quality schools. Instead, we go to catholic schools. That's how I was raised and it's a great way to raise a human being. Yes, you may have to commit to a higher calling, but you should be doing that anyway.

HIREME

Check out Lewisburg school district in MS. I live in OB and love it. Virtually no crime and is a higher income area without being snobbish and is still affordable. If you go just outside city limits (on the S. side of college rd.), you get Lewisburg schools and convenience of the city. It's one of the top 5 schools in the state and Olive Branch is a neat town (Old Towne)...there's farmer's markets and good people, I think. Good luck!

FreeCoffee

I wouldn't write off the private schools. Supply and demand will work itself out if the public schools continue to slide. I have a bunch of FedEx friends whose kids are happy at a number of the local private schools.

Paddles

You might want to also look into Fayette county in TN. There are several private schools close. And if you live in the northern part, you are close to I-40, Arlington and Oakland for shopping. If you have base privileges, the exchange and commissary at Millington is only 15 minutes away. There are quite a few FDX guys out here. The commute into the airport is 25 minutes, if you aren't headed in during rush hour. You get the benefit of low county tax and no state income tax as well. Very little crime and there are quite a lot of good deals on some nice homes out here too.