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Memphis-Shelby County Schools will begin hosting community meetings next week at schools recommended for closure by the end of the academic year.
The first meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19, at Frayser-Corning Elementary School. District leaders are expected to host meetings at each school — Frayser-Corning Elementary, Lucy Elementary, Chickasaw Middle, Georgian Hills Elementary, and Ida B. Wells Academy — over the next two months.
MSCS will also host a meeting at five schools where students could be rezoned, starting on Thursday, Nov. 20 with Westside Elementary School.
“MSCS wants to ensure district-owned real estate is managed to align with educational, operational, community, and neighborhood goals,” the district wrote in a press release Friday.
Each meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. Here’s the full schedule:
- Nov. 19 at Frayser-Corning Elementary School.
- Nov. 20 at Westside Elementary School (rezone for Frayser-Corning students).
- Dec. 3 at Lucy Elementary School.
- Dec. 4 at Woodstock Middle School (rezone for Lucy Elementary students).
- Dec. 8 at Chickasaw Middle School.
- Dec. 10 at Westwood High School (rezone for Chickasaw Middle students).
- Dec. 15 at Georgian Hills Elementary School.
- Dec. 17 at Hawkins Mill Elementary School (rezone for Georgian Hills students).
- Jan. 14 at Ida B. Wells Academy.
- Jan. 15 at Norris Academy (Ida B. Wells Academy is an unzoned choice school, so students could attend any district school with available seats).
In September, Superintendent Roderick Richmond presented proposals to close the four MSCS schools and transfer control of Lucy Elementary to Millington Municipal School District for the 2026-2027 school year. Leaders say chronic underenrollment and growing facilities costs are motivating the closures.
Those are also the two factors determining where rezoned students may go, according to a plan presented by MSCS leaders in October. The more than 1,000 affected students are expected to attend other MSCS schools with unused classroom seats.
Board members will vote on whether to approve the school closures and rezoning plans in February. In the meantime, a new facilities committee is working to develop a comprehensive plan for these and future school projects, in light of a looming $1.6 billion maintenance budget for MSCS buildings.
The facilities committee will present their recommendations for the comprehensive plan, including a $750 million bond request for the Shelby County Commission, to the school board on Tuesday.
Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.
