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The Shelby County Commission voted Monday to set aside $200,000 for a lawsuit challenging the state takeover of Memphis schools.
The local school board unanimously voted two weeks ago to hire a lawyer for the same purpose. The next day, Tennessee Republicans passed their bill to appoint a nine-member oversight board that will seize control of key district decisions.
But a law signed by Gov. Bill Lee on April 21, hours before the school board litigation vote, prevents the district from using public dollars to sue the state over accountability measures, which could include the state takeover. Memphis Rep. Mark White, one of the takeover bill sponsors, told Chalkbeat Monday that the commission is looking for a loophole by using money not strictly set aside for education purposes.
Instead, the $200,000 is from the county’s general fund and being designated to use in legal action.
But White said he’s confident the takeover bill is legal and constitutional. A lawsuit now would be “a waste of time and a waste of money,” he said.
“We feel very confident that we’re on solid ground,” White said. “My goal is we all get on the same team now that we passed the bill.”
Some community members also told Chalkbeat they are doubtful a lawsuit will succeed in reversing the takeover legislation. But during Monday’s special call meeting, Commissioner Charlie Caswell said this isn’t the time to give up on a fight.
“This is just a door opening to many other things that’s to follow,” he said. “And if we don’t stand on something we’re going to fall for any and everything.”
Eight commissioners voted to approve the lawsuit funding, including Michael Whaley, who was absent for a vote last week that failed to put the investment on a general meeting agenda. Commissioner Britney Thornton once again crossed party lines to reject the proposal alongside her Republican colleagues Amber Mills and Mick Wright.
The county government’s resolution, sponsored by Commissioners Mickell Lowery and Matthew Szalaj, accuses state lawmakers of imposing the oversight board on MSCS without consent from Shelby County voters or elected leaders. It also says local taxpayers will foot the bill for the oversight board members “to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, and likely a million dollars or more over four years.”
It’s unclear when MSCS will file its lawsuit or whether it will file joint action with the county commission. District leaders have said they’re waiting until the takeover bill is signed into law to make any official moves.
White told Chalkbeat that he expects Lee to sign the takeover bill into law this week. Oversight board members will be named “pretty much immediately” after that, he said.
Opponents to the lawsuit funding said during Monday’s meeting that local leadership hasn’t improved the district or student outcomes for years.The county commission issued a vote of no confidence against the MSCS board in January 2025, after the controversial firing of then-Superintendent Marie Feagins.
“We’re pulling money from nowhere, money we don’t have by the way … to assist a school system that has blatantly failed our kids,” Commissioner Wright said. “And we’ve had how many months of this chamber filled with parents who are desperate for something to change?”
Mayor Lee Harris, who spoke in support of funding the MSCS lawsuit Monday, said the county has flexibility to delay some ongoing projects in order to free up money for the district’s legal action.
Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.
