JIM STRICKLAND AYOR TENNESSEE April 21, 2017 Fund Students First Coalition 915 E. McLemore Ave. Suite 201 Memphis, TN 38106 Dear Coalition Members: Thank you for your letter dated April 13, 2017. welcome and appreciate your efforts to improve the education and training of Memphis youth. i believe that children are our greatest asset, which is why our administration will continue to enhance city programming and look for opportunities that benefit our youth, regardless of budget constraints. As you certainly understand, our budget was completed well before i received your recent letter. In addition, as you certainly also know, the city of Memphis has serious and well documented budget challenges; we have consistently outlined a $50 million challenge over the next few years. As examples, the state of Tennessee is eliminating the Hall Income Tax over the next 4 years, which will cost us $15 million per year, and our annual required contribution to the pension fund will increase by $20 million per year over the next four years. The City of Memphis dedicates roughly $50 million of the general fund to parks and libraries that support children?s programming and services. In fact, almost all city divisions have programming that touch children?s lives, including Memphis Fire and Memphis Police. And the Memphis City Council annually awards grants to nonprofits that support children. One example, since i have been Mayor, is the City of Memphis increased programming at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library by 251 percent and served 32 percent more children than in 2015. We will extend operating hours at our libraries this summer. We?re expanding reading programs at our community centers and have worked with several non-profits to develop quality programming at our community centers. And, for the first time ever, we offered camps for spring break. We have or are in the process of developing partnerships with Southwest Tennessee Community College, Moore Tech, and Tennessee College of Applied Technology to connect young people with job training opportunities. Currently, the City of Memphis is only able to offer 1,400 job opportunities to young people. That is not enough, and we continue to reach out the business community to encourage it to hire more young people. Plus, we have partnered with the national My Brother?s Keeper initiative to host the Pathways to Success Suite 700 125 N. Main Street 0 Memphis, Tennessee 38103-2078 - (901) 576?6000 FAX (901) 576?6018 Fund Students First Coaiition April 21, 2017 Page 2 Opportunity Summit in June for young men of color between the ages of 16?29 who are in search of employment. In your letter, you allege that the City of Memphis is the only municipality "in Shelby County that does not contribute additional funding to public education.? What you do not mention is that the other cities that contribute those additional dollars did so after two public referenda in each city: (1) to create their own school districts and (2) to fund their municipal schools with a sales tax increase. Also, taxpayers in Memphis do, in fact, finance Shelby County Schools through their county taxes. And, a few years ago, the citizens of Memphis voted not to be ?double taxed? and to surrender the charter of the former Memphis City Schools. My administration is not only committed to finding partnerships that will help benefit our youngest citizens, but has already taken action to increase what city government does. We appreciate your energy toward what we both agree is critical to the future of the city we all love: doing better by our young people.