Sign up for Chalkbeat Tennessee’s free newsletter to keep up with statewide education policy and Memphis-Shelby County Schools.
Memphis-Shelby County education leaders recommend closing four schools and transferring one to a neighboring suburban district by the end of the academic year.
The list of schools presented Tuesday by Interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond is the first phase of a long-anticipated facilities plan slated to be released by early 2026. The school board is expected to vote on these initial closures in February.
Leaders hope the short-term and long-term plans will address chronic underenrollment and deteriorating building conditions. The district is facing over $1.6 billion in building repairs and renovations over the next decade, and 10 buildings are set to reach the end of their useful life in that time.
Richmond said that the initial schools, located in the Northwest and Southwest regions, were chosen for closure because of underenrollment and high deferred maintenance needs. In total, the five buildings have more than $6.5 million in immediate maintenance needs and a projected $48 million over the next 20 years, according to an independent report released earlier this year.
The impacted schools are:
- Lucy Elementary (transfer to Millington Municipal School District).
- Ida B. Wells Academy (closure).
- Frayser-Corning Elementary (closure).
- Chickasaw Middle (closure).
- Georgian Hills Elementary (closure).
It’s unclear how students and staff will be re-zoned for next school year. District leaders say they expect to present plans for rezoning and reports on each schools’ enrollment and programs next month.
In past closures, students have mostly been sent to nearby MSCS schools in better physical condition. Teachers will be able to follow their students if there are openings, Richmond said Tuesday.
From October to December, the district will conduct a minimum of two public hearings per school to address parent concerns and float ideas for repurposing. According to the presentation Tuesday, the Ida B. Wells building is designated to be used by MSCS for adult education or district operations.
Richmond said the district is still evaluating what will happen to the three other buildings after closure.
District leaders shuttered 21 schools from from 2012 to 2016, mostly in South Memphis. Around half of those students wound up in schools performing either on par or worse academically than their original placement, according to Chalkbeat analysis.
The district has a history of announcing closure plans that don’t materialize. A 2024 draft plan under former Superintendent Toni Williams slated 21 schools for closure. Only one, Humes Middle School, has since shut down.
Four of the five schools recommended for closure Tuesday were included in the 2024 draft plan.
In 2016, former Superintendent Dorsey Hopson promised 24 closures in five years. But according to past Chalkbeat coverage, only around seven of his 28 recommendations have closed.
In both cases, MSCS leaders cited academic performance as the main driver of school closure decisions, partially out of fear that the state would take control of those communities as permitted by Tennessee law. But low student enrollment is also a factor, with most of the MSCS schools closed between 2012 and 2016 serving less than half of their capacity.
Current MSCS leaders say these factors and more will be taken into account for future school closures. The new facilities committee, composed of community members and business leaders, is set to propose long-term recommendations by November.
Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.
