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On a rainy Saturday, dozens of parents wearing white T-shirts that said “Save the children” in bright orange letters met under a tent in a North Memphis auto shop lot.
Representatives of Memphis Lift, a longtime local parent advocacy group, led them in chanting “Fired up, ready to go!”
The nonprofit invited parents to come to a “citywide revival” event that included educating them about the new, unprecedented state law that gives political appointees the power to take control of Memphis-Shelby County Schools from the elected school board.
For the past two years, members of Memphis Lift have been vocal supporters of the state takeover of MSCS. The nine-member state board, which includes a former superintendent and several charter school advocates, will have power over key district decisions, including the annual budget and staffing, starting July 1.
“I think this is the opportunity to change the education landscape in this city for children, especially Black children,” said Sarah Carpenter, director of Memphis Lift.
Chalkbeat spoke with more than a dozen attendees at Saturday’s event about what actions they want the state-appointed board to take. While often unclear about the specific changes they want the political appointees to make, all supporters said they were hopeful the board could improve district literacy and increase transparency from MSCS leaders.
Attendees also said they want better teachers and a higher-quality curriculum. But most said they don’t want any more school closures, even though it’s likely the state board will take that path.
Over 75% of Memphis students did not achieve proficiency on last year’s state reading exams.
“They’ve been in this spot for years and years and years, and ain’t nothing changed since I was in elementary,” said Carlos Person, father of an MSCS kindergartener and Memphis Lift staffer.
Not all Memphis residents support the state takeover. But community pushback against a state-backed takeover was notably muted this year due to increased attention on immigration enforcement and lack of clarity on the takeover bill specifics. MSCS and Shelby County leaders filed a lawsuit late last week calling the law that ushered in the intervention unconstitutional.
Tamarques Porter, who represents District 4 on the MSCS board and is a named plaintiff in the lawsuit, spoke at Saturday’s event. Carpenter praised him for being open to accountability.
“We got to do the right things on the board, whether it’s through the board of managers or not through the board of managers,” Porter said. “Keep holding us accountable, because I’m tired of being reactionary to everything.”
Parents at the event said they’re largely distrustful of the local school board and district leaders. Many advocated for the oversight board to bring back former Superintendent Marie Feagins, who was ousted by MSCS board members in January 2025.
“We need a board that will actually care and put our kids first,” said Deneene Hughes, whose nephew is an MSCS elementary student. “It seems like everything is about money.”
Billy Orgel, a former MSCS board member who was elected to the oversight board chair last week, said it’s too early to tell what changes the state-appointed members will pursue. He said he hopes the state’s forensic audit of the district will serve as a blueprint for the board’s work.
“I don’t think the audit was trying to find some smoking gun,” he told Chalkbeat. “I think the audit was looking for an outcome of, ‘here’s how you can improve.’”
The final results of the audit are expected on June 30. Early findings showed that less than 1% of MSCS’ annual budget over the past three years was “consistent with waste or abuse.”
Memphis Lift leaders and supporters said no matter what the oversight board does, they want more transparency and a bigger platform for parent voices. That could include published plans for literacy improvement, some said, and regular surveys of MSCS families.
Orgel said oversight members can provide support, but ultimately improving parent engagement largely falls on local school leaders.
“Because in the end, this is four years and we’re trying to help push our students forward,” he said. “We’re not building a big administrative staff.”
Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.
