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Different visions for intervention in Memphis-Shelby County Schools have emerged at the state legislature and local level.
One proposal in the House would take power away from the elected school board for at least four years, giving oversight of the school district to a state-appointed board of local residents. A proposal in the Senate would give the Shelby County Commission greater control over the school district — at a time when commissioners have already proposed creating an advisory board to consult with the school board.
Controversy over district leadership intensified after the current school board fired Superintendent Marie Feagins in January after a nine-month tenure that had been preceded by an 18-month search process. But community leaders are divided about what type of intervention is needed.
One path would give Shelby County Commission more power
The Senate bill would give the state the power to remove school board members and district leaders in MSCS — and put the choice of their replacements into the hands of the Shelby County Commission.
The bill, brought by Republican Sen. Brent Taylor of Memphis, advanced past the Senate Education Committee last week.
“(MSCS has) a school board that is as credible as my mother’s Facebook page,” Taylor said during a debate of the bill last week. “If they’re incompetent to do the job, then they have to be held accountable.”
While the Senate proposal is aimed at Memphis-Shelby County Schools, it would apply statewide to districts that do not meet grade-level expectations in state assessments of math and English, and where at least 50% of students come from low-income families.
For districts meeting both thresholds, the state Commissioner of Education could recommend the removal of the superintendent and some or all of the school board members. The state Board of Education would need to approve these recommendations.
County commissioners would then appoint the replacement school board members to serve until the next election.
If there has been substantial turnover of superintendents — at least three leaders in three years, as is the case in MSCS — the bill would also allow the county mayor to recommend that the County Commission appoint a superintendent. That superintendent would need to serve for at least four years.
The state commissioner of education could also recommend converting one or more existing public schools in the district into a charter school.
Democratic Sen. Raumesh Akbari challenged the targeting of the Memphis-Shelby County School District. Her amendment to remove the economic threshold in the bill failed.
“We already have laws on the books right now. If a school district is deliberately disobeying the law, if they have serious financial malfeasance, they can already be taken over and removed,” she said. “This is a constitutionally questionable piece of legislation that, in my mind, punishes districts that have students who are in poverty.”
Sen. Taylor said the bill aimed to provide more help to students in economically disadvantaged areas.
Dolores Rivers, a retired MSCS teacher, testified against the legislation last week.
“We deserve the chance to build solutions from within, not have them imposed from above,” Rivers said. “Instead of fighting among us and among each other, we need you to fight with us.”
Other community members asked the education committee to support the bill.
“Others have said, ‘Let’s keep this local,‘” said Charles Lambkin of education advocacy group Memphis Lift. “We’ve demonstrated that we cannot even manage this situation at a local level.”
The Senate version of the bill passed 8-1 and will be heard next in the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee.
Another path would strip the current school board of most of its powers
A bill proposed by Republican Rep. Mark White of Memphis would establish a state-appointed panel of nine local residents to oversee MSCS, stripping away most powers currently held by the school board.
Under the legislation, the state-appointed board could require the elected school board and district administrators to “take certain actions,” or prohibit them from taking others.
The MSCS school board could still appoint a superintendent — but the state-appointed board would have veto power. The new board would also decide how and when the elected school board can convene.
School board members, who were divided on ousting Feagins as superintendent, have banded together to push against this bill proposal, arguing it violates the democratic voting process.
An amendment to narrow the bill more specifically to Memphis went through on Wednesday, though it would allow the state to similarly intervene in school districts that meet all of the following thresholds:
- At least 30% of district-managed schools receive a failing grade from the state.
- At least 25% of students are chronically absent in the district.
- The associated county legislative body approves a resolution declaring no confidence in the district’s school board.
After four years, the state education commissioner could gather local feedback and decide whether to extend the oversight board’s authority for two more years.
White said other intervention efforts — like a forensic audit of MSCS — are a start, but he wants to see a bigger change.
“I just don’t think we can continue to wait more years, waiting on the next election and hopefully get in another board,” he said. “I’m just tired of wasting our young people’s lives, they’re coming out of school every year in our community.”
Rachel Spriggs, with the The Equity Alliance, a nonprofit aimed at increasing economic and political power for Black residents, said Memphis needs more funding — not “state overreach.”
If anything, she said she supports an advisory board that wouldn’t take away decision-making power from the elected school board. The Shelby County Commission recently debated a resolution to create just that — but delayed a final vote on the matter earlier this week.
The Shelby County Commission has also discussed rescinding its funding allocation for a forensic audit and its vote of no-confidence in the elected school board, though these decisions are still up in the air.
The House Education Committee voted Wednesday 15-4 to advance the bill to the House Finance, Means, and Ways Committee.
Significant differences in the House and Senate versions would need to be reconciled before legislation could be voted into law, however.
Another bill, which would allow Memphis to align the elections of school board members to its County Commission and establish term-limits on members, also moved to the House Finance, Ways and Means Committee. That’s designed to increase voter turnout for the school board, though elections could be mostly moot for multiple years if Rep. White’s proposal moves forward.
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