Laura Testino is an enterprise reporter who writes about how public policy shapes Memphis. She is currently reporting from Frayser about education and housing. Please write her with your suggestions and story tips.
There are 85 articles by Laura Testino :
A Memphis demolition company has renewed plans to double the size of its construction debris landfill, but is again facing opposition from Frayser residents who are critical of the existing site.
Southwest sold its Gill Center to education neighbors Libertas, who plan to renovate the building for a middle school expansion, the organizations announced Wednesday.
The college is considering a future location in Frayser or Raleigh with programming tailored to the neighborhoods’ needs and interests.
The historic alleyway runs east from Second Street now to Fourth Street between Court and Madison avenues. Stuart Harris, a developer who spearheaded a renaming effort, said the “in-between” place holds “a lot of possibility and magic.”
Two Frayser high schools increased financial-aid application completion rates this year, bucking state and district trends. But more students still need to fill out the form for college.
Representatives for the club filed a lawsuit in March, claiming that the school district had “chosen to defy the First Amendment” by charging “excessive” and “unexpected” fees to rent space at Chimneyrock Elementary School for the club.
The departure from the race leaves voters in parts of South Memphis and Oakhaven neighborhoods with four other candidates to consider.
Political action committees have reported more than $73,000 in donations to candidates for the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board.
A new policy would require all overtime to receive advance approval from Superintendent Marie Feagins, and make no exceptions for emergencies.
The professional comedian, performing under the FunnyMaine moniker, gained popularity for his comedic re-enactments of University of Alabama football fans.
Academic success and student safety were the top concerns of a handful of voters who came to cast their ballots after lunch at New Beginnings Community Church on Kirby Parkway.
“We’ve seen good work from the single-gender schools, even though there’s not that many of them,” said Emily Lilley of the Tennessee Charter School Center.
If funding pressures disrupt construction timelines for the new schools, Shelby County Commissioner Charlie Caswell knows what he wants to see: “Frayser’s coming first.”
Voters ousted two of the three incumbents who sought reelection, including the board’s chair.
Four sitting Memphis school board members face challengers in the upcoming election, including District 2 representative and MSCS board chair Althea Greene. She is facing Natalie McKinney, a public critic of the district’s superintendent search process, and pastor Ernest Gillespie III.
Natalie McKinney and Tamarques Porter will take elected office for the first time when they are sworn in to the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board. Knocking on doors got them here.
“Let me just call it out. The money’s at South Hollywood,” said Commissioner Miska Clay Bibbs, in an apparent reference to the school board district offices at 160 S. Hollywood St.
The Land Use Control Board sided with a recommendation to reject the landfill’s expansion in Frayser, a relief for the advocates who opposed it. But the landfill’s owners will now seek approval from the City Council.
Memphis-Shelby County Schools began the 2024-25 year with 478 teacher vacancies, according to documents obtained by The Daily Memphian.
The City of Memphis is expanding its down payment assistance program to help more educators move to and live in Memphis.
The new structure, outlined in a resolution sponsored by all nine board members, is a return to a precedent of the legacy Memphis City Schools district.
“I think the autonomy should be left down there in the Whitehaven area so we can show y’all ... how to do these kids right,” Shelby County Probate Court Clerk Eddie Jones said.
Working for 15 years to reduce recidivism in Memphis, Lifeline to Success has helped some 2,271 former inmates navigate life after incarceration.
In its final action, the former MSCS board tasked incoming members with creating a strategic plan and evaluation for Superintendent Marie Feagins.
The Daily Memphian analyzed public records to determine what Memphis school district jobs were cut and which ones were created for this 2024-25 school year.