School boards
A 2022 contract with ServiceMaster Clean was flagged by state auditors as the biggest source of potential spending abuse this summer. The company will clean half of the district’s schools next year.
A federal judge lifted the temporary block on the takeover days after the state-appointed oversight board said it was ready to take control. But the legal fight to permanently stop the takeover continues.
Oversight board Chair Billy Orgel informed the court Tuesday that last week’s meeting demonstrated the board’s readiness to take control of Memphis schools.
The oversight board’s first meeting in months came days after a federal judge said the MSCS takeover could resume once the body is ready to take control.
Board Chair Tamarques Porter and Vice Chair Sable Otey said in an exclusive interview with Chalkbeat that they’re focused on improving teacher development and rebuilding trust in MSCS.
A federal judge indicated Monday that he plans to lift the block on the state-appointed oversight board once it says it is ready to begin work.
Judge Waverly Crenshaw closely questioned attorneys for the Memphis-Shelby County school board, who argue the state takeover harms local students.
Tamarques Porter was elected to replace Natalie McKinney as Memphis-Shelby County school board chair. Sable Otey was tapped as vice-chair, replacing Joyce Dorse Coleman.
More than three months after Memphis school leaders sued over Tennessee’s takeover law, the case’s first full hearing is set for Oct. 2 in Nashville.
Amber Huett-Garcia left the Memphis school board after a four-year term marked by significant superintendent turnover. Here’s what she thinks MSCS needs to do to succeed.
State and federal grants aren’t keeping up with the costs of the special education pre-K classrooms Tennessee districts are required to fund.
Four Democrats elected to Memphis-Shelby County school board in first partisan election
Early voters begin casting their ballots Friday to elect two new members to MSCS board seats. But it’s unclear how much power those elected candidates will have.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Memphis schools takeover after officials argued it could delay important decisions on purchases like HVAC repairs.
The lawsuit challenges a new Tennessee law that establishes an oversight board to take control away from the locally elected school board.
The Memphis oversight board will take over district controls from the elected school board beginning July 1.
The nine-person board will now seize significant authority from the locally elected school board.
Though Tennessee law bans religious charter schools, state officials have left the Knox County Board of Education on its own to defend the policy. The legal battle signals major changes may be on the horizon for Tennessee’s charter landscape.
Recent school takeovers in Texas, often heralded by Tennessee Republicans, resulted in multiple school shutdowns. And a former MSCS superintendent appointed to MSCS’ oversight board made closures a lynchpin of his tenure.
SCORE CEO David Mansouri will be the only takeover board member who isn’t a Shelby County resident.