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Memphis-Shelby County Schools narrowly avoided legislation that would have expanded state control over its elected school board and budget. But lawmakers intend to bring that bill back — and other efforts to audit the district and potentially change the timing of its school board elections have advanced.
Though versions of state intervention bills passed in the House and Senate, the chambers could not reconcile them before the Tennessee General Assembly adjourned on Tuesday. Each bill called for a state-appointed oversight board whose members would be paid by the school district, but the two versions differed on what powers it gave that board, and the thresholds that would trigger state intervention.
Rather than settle on a compromise bill, the sponsors made a “strategic decision” to keep the bills alive, according to a statement from sponsor Rep. Mark White of Memphis.
“Continuing to invest in failed leadership and administrative mismanagement without addressing the district’s fundamental issues is doing a disservice to the people we were elected to represent,” White and Senate sponsor Brent Taylor of Memphis said in a joint statement.
A bill that would allow for the recall of school board members also stalled.
White’s legislation came in response to the firing of MSCS Superintendent Marie Feagins in January — less than a year into her tenure — a move that drew strong objections from many district educators and members of the community. At the time, many of them warned that firing the superintendent would signal the kind of disorder that would invite state intervention.
But critics of the legislation called it undemocratic and an example of state overreach. The local teacher’s union president delivered more than 5,000 petitions against the legislation last week. Many members of the Memphis delegation also voiced opposition, as did the elected school board.
The state has a history of interventions in MSCS, including the Achievement School District turnaround program, which removed low-performing schools and placed them in a state-run district, often under the control of charter operators. Earlier this week, the state voted to end the ASD after research showed it failed to achieve long-term academic improvements.
School board member Michelle McKissack, who represents District 1, said there is a need for reform in MSCS — a state takeover was not the solution.
“I also was frustrated and upset by the decision of members of my board in terminating the previous superintendent,” McKissack said. “But at the same time, I didn’t want to see the state step in, take over, to the degree of usurping the voice of the people.”
Though this intervention legislation stalled, more change could be on its way. State lawmakers passed a budget that will fund a $6 million forensic audit of MSCS, conducted by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury. The sponsors of the intervention bill intend to merge their legislation when results of the audit are in, according to a press release from the state House Republican Caucus.
The legislature also passed a bill Tuesday that would allow the Shelby County Commission to synchronize school board elections to the same cycle as commission elections. It’s an effort to increase voter turnout for those positions. But it could mean that elected school board members’ terms are cut short.
The commission would need to pass a resolution before the election timing would change.
McKissack said an increase in voter turnout could be beneficial, but it could also lead to a total replacement of the school board at one time, wiping out veteran knowledge and creating upheaval. Ultimately, she said she wants to see some stability for MSCS.
“We’ve been through a very tumultuous period,” McKissack said. “No matter what, moving forward, I hope that all of the stakeholders involved just really keep children at the forefront of what’s best. Sometimes that has gotten lost in the conversation.”
