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Last March, a group of Memphis faith and nonprofit leaders rallied outside the school district’s headquarters holding signs with “S.O.S.” printed in bright red letters.
It was a public show of community solidarity with Memphis-Shelby County Schools, which was facing threats of a state takeover from Tennessee lawmakers. The grassroots Save Our Students coalition called the proposal to establish a state-appointed oversight board “an attack on democracy.”
The group hosted a series of town halls and community meetings through May, shortly after the state legislature failed to pass a cohesive takeover bill. But since last summer, public pushback has been notably muted, even as Memphis Republicans signaled through the summer and fall they were working on a compromise to push the takeover bill forward in early 2026.
Community response seems to be “radio silent,” Liz Marable, president of the United Education Association chapter in Memphis, said. But former Save Our Students members say they’re taking a more behind-the-scenes advocacy approach, at least until they better understand what they’re up against.
“The organizing never stopped,” said Joseph Kyles, president of Rainbow PUSH Coalition Memphis. “But at this point, it’s all in terms of strategy. You need to know what you are fighting against, and the bill is not clear. The relationship between the Senate and the House is not clear.”
Kyles said he thinks rallies will kick up again after lawmakers learn early results of the district’s financial audit, which are expected Wednesday, and a final version of the takeover bill is developed.
White and Taylor could fast-track their bill through the legislative session if GOP leadership were on board with the compromise plan. While the House wants to push forward with a more aggressive state takeover, some Senate Republican leadership are hesitant about installing an oversight board with no input from local Memphis leaders.
Interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond said he’s met with a number of lawmakers about the state takeover pushes over the last year and regularly communicates with White and Taylor. As the “chief advocate for the district,” Richmond said he’s primarily been spreading word of MSCS’ growth.
“Just because people aren’t screaming and yelling doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t have people who are being supportive via other channels,” he added. “I would like to think that there are more people advocating for us than against us.”
Some Memphis community leaders say the recent immigration crackdown led by the Memphis Safe Task Force, a deployment of federal and state agencies against the wishes of local leadership, has drained energy and resources.
“People are gearing up for immigration fights and the harms that are being caused to people in our community,” said Cardell Orrin, executive director of Stand for Children Tennessee. “Most of the organizations here are not education-specific. So there’s still interest, but there’s an organizing gap.”
Memphis takeover opponents argue that they want state support instead of overreach. Marable, leader of the local teachers’ group, said the state should invest more money into the school system for wraparound student services and strengthen affordable housing.
“We’re not asking the state to walk away; we’re asking them to be a real partner,” Marable said. “If Tennessee is really about student success, I think it has to invest and not control, because they don’t have the power to run schools. They’ve proven that over and over.”
In 2012, Tennessee lawmakers took control of around 30 Memphis schools under what they called the Achievement School District. That experiment, meant to boost school performance, is largely considered a failure. Most state takeovers over the past three decades haven’t successfully improved student achievement.
But proponents for the MSCS takeover want to use Houston’s takeover in 2023 as a model. Luke Cymbal, vice president of the Shelby County Republican Party, says he’s met with Houston’s new state-appointed superintendent alongside White and Taylor.
“I think the result there speaks for itself,” Cymbal said.
Student reading and math proficiency scores have improved in Houston since 2023. But some researchers and the Houston teachers union have raised concerns about the validity of the A-F school rating system, which was overhauled the same year that the state takeover began.
“The data just does not support takeover,” Richmond said. “What the data supports is more of a partnership approach, a co-management approach, where all of us want the same thing.”
Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.
