When in late 2010 the Memphis City Schools board voted narrowly to surrender the system’s charter, to force a hostile merger with the much more affluent suburban Shelby County Schools, it began the biggest public policy story in decades in Memphis. The stories below provide some background on the controversy, which resulted in just one full school year of a merged 150,000-student district, before suburban municipal districts created by the Republican state legislature opened for suburban students.

Schools merger explainer: Suburban disbelief, anger rejecting talk of consolidation inevitability

Schools merger explainer: Simple, brief referendum language belies power of education transformation

Schools merger ruling: Republican federal judge upholds Memphis City Schools charter surrender

Schools merger ruling: Suburban municipal efforts, arguments rejected by Republican federal judge