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Memphis school leaders plan to close up to 15 schools in the next three years, according to a long-term facilities plan released this week.
In the document obtained by Chalkbeat on Thursday, Memphis-Shelby County Schools officials did not name the 10 schools being considered for closure in 2027 and 2028. But it does say that most of the closures will be in the district’s Northwest and Southwest regions, which have the most chronically underenrolled and oldest buildings.
The plan is also “a living document,” the report says, “meaning it is continually reviewed, updated, and refined as circumstances change.”
Chronic underenrollment and high-cost repair needs are the main factors placing schools on the recommended closure list, according to the draft plan. One in four MSCS schools currently fills less than 60% of its available seats, and the district is facing over $1 billion in needed building repairs over the next decade. Nine MSCS buildings, including four administrative centers, are nearing the end of their useful life.
In September, Interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond proposed the first round of school closures included in Thursday’s plan. MSCS board members are expected to vote on whether to close the first four — Frayser-Corning Elementary, Georgian Hills Elementary, Chickasaw Middle and Ida B. Wells Academy — in February.
They’ll also decide whether to transfer the Lucy Elementary building to neighboring Millington Municipal School District years ahead of a state-mandated schedule. Parents have raised safety concerns about proposed school mergers and questions about teacher retention during school closure community hearings this fall. The new plan suggests leaning more on “alternate grade structures” like K-8 or 6-12 models.
The Daily Memphian first reported on the long-term facilities plan Thursday morning. In addition to planned closures, MSCS leaders want to upgrade deteriorating athletic facilities and renovate schools that could absorb students displaced by closures. That includes fixing structural issues like HVAC, roofs, and plumbing systems over the next five years.
Overall, the report says, MSCS families in the Northwest have experienced the “most disruption” in recent years. Most of the schools taken over by the state under the failed Achievement School District were housed in that region.
The district has closed 35 schools in the two western regions since 2010, the draft plan says, due to local residents moving eastward and “disinvestment in the inner-city.” Future housing development projects are also largely concentrated in the eastern county areas.
But there are 21 schools considered “underutilized,” meaning they have too many vacant student seats, in the Northwest and Southwest. That’s compared to 13 in the eastern regions. The report says Northwest elementary schools and Southwest middle and high schools will likely be the focus of future closure recommendations.
“Right-sizing space reduces the number of buildings to maintain, which means limited district resources flow to fewer facilities, ensuring those resources support the most students,” the draft plan says.
The district’s ad hoc facilities committee, formed to provide feedback on the long-term plan, recommended asking the Shelby County Commission for $750 million to fund repairs and closures in the next 10 years. That proposal is included in the draft plan, as are proposals for the district to conduct studies of MSCS attendance zones and relevant housing development plans.
Catch up on Chalkbeat Tennessee’s coverage of Memphis school closure discussions at:
This story has been updated to include additional details from the draft facilities plan.
Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.
