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Parents at a Memphis elementary school are concerned about student safety in a proposed K-8 merger next year that comes as part of a larger district school closure plan.
In September, interim Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Roderick Richmond recommended the transfer of the Lucy Elementary building to neighboring Millington Municipal School District at the end of this school year, in order to comply with a 2023 state law and address chronic underenrollment. Richmond also recommended closing four MSCS schools, a proposal that board members are expected to vote on in February.
But children currently attending Lucy would likely not be able to transfer to Millington, because they are still zoned for MSCS. District leaders say merging students with Woodstock Middle School would fill empty classroom seats and offer new amenities, like a renovated gym.
Right now, only around 30% of seats at Lucy Elementary and Woodstock Middle School are in use. Combining the two schools would boost that figure to over 70%.
“We have 12 K-8 grade structures, so we understand exactly what we need to do to make sure we get it right for your babies,” said MSCS Regional Superintendent Debra Fox-Stanford at a Wednesday hearing.
But some parents aren’t sold on that idea. Jeffery Porter has a daughter in second grade. He said last year, an older student gave her a THC-infused gummy candy while on the bus ride home.
“She had to go to the hospital; it was bad,” Porter told Chalkbeat Tennessee. “And now, she could be riding the bus with eighth graders. That’s bigger kids, they’re close to being grown. We’re really worried about that.”
Porter said he will likely try to send his daughter to a different elementary school through the district’s open enrollment process. But MSCS leaders said Wednesday that the process opens for applications on Jan. 27, before the school board is set to vote on Lucy Elementary’s transfer. Offers are given on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Lucy Elementary needs $2.5 million in maintenance upgrades in the next two years, according to an independent report released this spring. Stanford-Fox said transferring the building to Millington before the 2027 deadline set by state lawmakers will allow MSCS to funnel that money more directly to Memphis students.
“The proposal to transfer the school to Millington early will keep the district from investing any additional funds into a building that they will no longer operate,” she said. “We can continue to make Woodstock Middle School even better.”
MSCS leaders said Wednesday that they don’t know yet if Woodstock would be able to offer prekindergarten classes, which Lucy Elementary currently does. As for the seven staff affected by Lucy’s transfer, which parents raised concerns about in the district’s first closure hearing, there will be a “special transfer period” to apply to work at Woodstock.
Audrey Williams, director of transportation for MSCS, said bus monitors can be assigned if issues arise from students from different grade spans mixing. But Porter said he’s not convinced that will solve everything, especially because those same safety issues come with cafeterias and hallways.
“I understand if [merging the schools] is the best they can do for now,” he said. “But I just don’t think it’s a good idea to have that young of kids around that big of kids. Bullying’s a big issue, and that’s just like setting it up.”
MSCS will host another community meeting about the proposed transfer of Lucy Elementary Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Woodstock Middle School.
Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.
