MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - A federal judge has appointed a special court master to complete the merger of the Memphis and Shelby County Schools.
Judge Samuel Mays gave the job to Rick Masson, who served as Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Memphis when Willie Herenton was mayor.
Duties of the special master include overseeing the Unified School Board and making final decisions if the board can't agree on a solution. Board member Kenneth Whalum says the judge should've made this decision two years ago.
"He's two years late and if he had done what he had ordered himself to do two years ago we wouldn't have a lot of the confusion we have right now," he said.
The special master will be paid anywhere from $200 to $300 an hour, or more. That money will come out of the unified district budget, which is already in the red.
