MSCS could challenge state takeover in court
Republican sponsors of the bill have said they’ll push the Tennessee General Assembly to pass legislation that would kneecap the elected board by giving a new board of state appointees powers over MSCS.
Laura Testino
There are 378 articles by Laura Testino :
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February 2026
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Education These five Memphis schools will close this summer
Memphis-Shelby County Schools board members voted to close five campuses at the end of the school year. The decision impacts 2,650 students and staff, and could be the first round of a total 15 school closures within three years.
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EducationBusy year of hiring, firing, reassigning led to payroll problems at MSCS, audit finds
The regular audit is separate from the state-ordered forensic audit of the Memphis school system. The forensic audit is underway.
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EducationMSCS could close five schools to students with Tuesday board vote
District officials estimate 2,650 students would go to a new school or get new classmates, a smaller figure than it could be. That’s because many of the students who are zoned to attend the schools don’t, according to district data obtained and reviewed by The Daily Memphian.
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Education This fall, MSCS regains two campuses and Tennessee’s state-run turnaround district ends
Memphis-Shelby County Schools will resume control of the final charter schools in the state-run Achievement School District, a largely unsuccessful effort to boost academic achievement in the state’s chronically low-performing schools.
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EducationMore than 300 students are in limbo as a charter school fights for its future
A court order is keeping Memphis-Shelby County Schools from shutting down a South Memphis charter elementary school for now. But a history of low performance is raising a question: Should it close?
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State Government New plan means results of high-stakes MSCS probe will be ready in March
State lawmakers voted to fund the audit last spring. No initial findings of wrongdoing prompted it; rather, lawmakers bolstered a smaller effort from the Shelby County Board of Commissioners who were frustrated by the school board’s ouster of former Superintendent Marie Feagins.
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Education Feagins case against MSCS returns to square one
Her lawsuit requests she be restored to the superintendent seat or paid severance as outlined in her contract.
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Education MSCS has a new superintendent. Will its vote toward ‘stability’ be short-lived?
Memphis-Shelby County Schools board members scrapped a search in favor of appointing Roderick Richmond as superintendent. Threats of state takeover loom over its split decision to stabilize the district after years of leadership tumult.
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Education Lawmakers’ criticism of MSCS finances ‘premature,’ Richmond says
Republican lawmakers who were briefed on preliminary information from a state-funded forensic audit of Memphis-Shelby County Schools are drawing “premature” conclusions, interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond said.
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Education 3-year-old classmates connect across Memphis through Le Bonheur hospital pre-K program
“Some of our children have been here their entire lives, so they haven’t even gotten out of their hospital rooms.”
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Education‘Unprecedented’ MSCS forensic audit report expected this spring
“There’s financial record mismanagement, waste and abuse of contracts, disorganization at a level that’s unprecedented,” state Rep. Mark White told The Daily Memphian Friday.
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EducationBelieve Memphis weighs closure allowing Grizzlies Prep a larger South Memphis campus
The potential relocation would give Grizzlies Prep students, currently about 300 boys, a campus with a gym and outdoor spaces. It also would provide a facility for the charter operator to open its new all-girls school.
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EducationMSCS used all its snow days. What happens now?
Memphis-Shelby County Schools used up its eighth and final snow day on Wednesday, Feb. 4 — then closed for Thursday.
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Education Memphis releases funds to ease pre-K crisis — but the fight isn’t over
The City of Memphis released $8.5 million to prekindergarten organization First 8 Memphis. The funds could keep some classrooms afloat while city, county and First 8 officials remain in negotiations for a long-term funding plan.
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winter weather
City of Memphis‘Efficient melting’ coming for Memphis on Groundhog Day
Monday will be more of the same in Memphis — icy roadways, closed schools. But it will also finally be warmer, no matter which rodents see or do not see their shadows.
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January 2026
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winter weather
EducationWinter storm delays MSCS’ superintendent decision
Memphis-Shelby County Schools board members said they would soon determine permanent leadership for the district. But will it be by search or an appointment?
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winter weather
EducationIcy streets keep schools closed for a third day
MSCS isn’t anticipating implementing remote or hybrid learning options available under state law.
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winter weather
City of MemphisIce vs. plow showdown: ‘Roads are going to be messy at least through next week’
Thursday may be the city’s “last shot at some meaningful melting before we get that arctic plunge again.”
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winter weather
EducationIs Richmond in or out? MSCS board decides next week.
Roderick Richmond’s evaluation results — including teachers' opinions on the interim leader — are in. He took over the district after former superintendent Marie Feagins was removed by the board in Jan. 2025.
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Education MSCS adds Shelby County Commission to ballot lawsuit
The MSCS board’s new complaint makes a special case for board member Tamarques Porter of District 4 who “will suffer a unique harm.”
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Education Elon Musk wants to fund more improvements to MSCS school buildings
This time, the Musk Foundation has proposed funding upgrades at three elementary schools.
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EducationWhat a changing Head Start grant has to do with possible pre-K closures in Memphis
Instead of expanding pre-K access, classrooms may close if Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris doesn’t release local funding, prekindergarten organization First 8 says.
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State GovernmentThousands more applied for Tennessee vouchers. What does that mean for Shelby County?
Last year, 5,500 Shelby County students got about $45 million in public funding to use at private schools by participating in the state’s two major school voucher initiatives. Even more vouchers could be on the way.
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EducationOnce at odds, two local lawmakers now agree how to ‘move forward’ with MSCS takeover
State Rep. Mark White hopes Tennessee legislative leadership is “ready to move” on an MSCS takeover bill when lawmakers reconvene Tuesday, Jan. 13.
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