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Memphis-Shelby County school leaders will host a community meeting to discuss proposed school closures next week in Frayser, where two schools are slated to be shut down this year.
The “listening session” will take place from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Oct. 22 at the North Frayser Community Center. In a press release, MSCS leaders described the event as “a chance for families and community members to have their voices heard and get important information” about a range of issues: “the proposed school closures, Board Members roles & responsibilities, available community resources, and historical context of the state takeover.”
Last month, Interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond announced his proposal to close four schools and transfer control of a fifth to a neighboring district. The suggested closures of Ida B. Wells Academy, Chickasaw Middle, and Georgian Hills and Frayser-Corning Elementary schools come as MSCS faces a billion-dollar maintenance bill and chronic underenrollment across its buildings.
There are still many unanswered questions surrounding the proposed school closures, including what will happen to teachers and staff. The district and the state do not track the number of staff in each building, so it’s unclear how many will be displaced by the closures.
MSCS school board members are expected to vote on Richmond’s suggested school shutdowns in February. They would take effect for the 2026-27 school year.
Richmond said at September’s meeting that the district will present more information on rezoning plans for displaced students sometime this month. He also said MSCS leaders will host at least two listening sessions for each school on the proposed closure list before the end of the calendar year.
Correction: An earlier version of this story referred to the event as the first of several town hall events focused on the proposed school closures. District officials later clarified that this event is separate from that planned series.
Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.
