Memphis Local, Sports, Business & Food News | Daily Memphian | Laura Testino

Memphis-Shelby County Schools sets 2026-27 academic calendar

Ltestino@dailymemphian.com (Laura Testino) — Tue, 7 Apr 2026 21:29:40 -0500

Beginning next year, the district’s administration has said it hopes to move more quickly on producing a school calendar and potentially consider multiple calendar years at once.

MSCS advances improvement plan, acknowledges ‘critical blind spots’ uncovered by state’s audit

Ltestino@dailymemphian.com (Laura Testino) — Mon, 6 Apr 2026 15:07:01 -0500

MSCS head Roderick Richmond is advancing plans to improve internal controls and district processes in response to forensic audit findings released last week. Now, the district has launched two websites to track progress.

COVID funding, contracts, controls: What's in the MSCS audit

Ltestino@dailymemphian.com (Laura Testino) — Thu, 2 Apr 2026 14:59:51 -0500

Here’s what auditors CliftonLarsonAllen LLP found in district finances at a time of high leadership turmoil and financial change, with federal pandemic relief funding and a new state education funding formula.

MSCS audit yields findings 'consistent with waste and abuse'

Ltestino@dailymemphian.com (Laura Testino) — Wed, 1 Apr 2026 13:42:21 -0500

An interim forensic audit report of Memphis-Shelby County Schools yielded 175 deficiencies.

MSCS makes Richmond official as audit results loom

Ltestino@dailymemphian.com (Laura Testino) — Wed, 1 Apr 2026 07:16:16 -0500

Richmond’s contract allows the board to fire him for cause without any pay if he earns poor marks for business management or fails to implement required corrective action plans related to the incoming audit results.

MSCS reconsiders superintendent contract on eve of forensic audit results

Ltestino@dailymemphian.com (Laura Testino) — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 13:48:30 -0500

The revote sets the stage for the elected Memphis-Shelby County Schools board to consider finalizing a superintendent contract shortly before Tennessee lawmakers make significant headway on legislation that would strip the board of those hiring and firing powers.

What makes a low-performing MSCS school? State board targets 14 schools for improvements

Ltestino@dailymemphian.com (Laura Testino) — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 06:50:49 -0500

About a dozen campuses run by Memphis-Shelby County Schools will be subject to more academic scrutiny over the next year as officials work to improve the schools’ F letter grades.

MSCS must name its new Frayser high campus as it considers selling more buildings

Ltestino@dailymemphian.com (Laura Testino) — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 04:00:05 -0500

Frayser? Trezevant? Frayser-Trezevant? As construction continues, MSCS will have to make up its collective mind.

Some docs in Feagins’ initial lawsuit won't be 'released to Facebook'

Ltestino@dailymemphian.com (Laura Testino) — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 17:06:09 -0500

A judge ruled from the bench that former Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins and the school district can shield certain documents from the public in the case.

Amid county mayoral bid, Feagins sues MSCS again

Ltestino@dailymemphian.com (Laura Testino) — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 12:00:17 -0500

The lawsuit is the second Marie Feagins has filed against MSCS since she was fired in January 2025.

MSCS board makes Richmond ‘interim’ again, punts on takeover alternative plan

Ltestino@dailymemphian.com (Laura Testino) — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 06:12:08 -0500

Memphis-Shelby County Schools board members voted 7-2 during a special-called meeting on Wednesday, March 18, to keep Roderick Richmond on his interim superintendent contract.

$200M would buy nearly 1,000 Memphis school upgrades. Will the money be there?

Ltestino@dailymemphian.com (Laura Testino) — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 05:48:34 -0500

Over the next couple months, the Shelby County Commission will have to wrestle with how many Memphis-Shelby County Schools projects the county can actually fund. Doing them all would cost $200 million, a sum the county is unlikely to provide.

Ask the Memphian: Why are five MSCS schools closing, and what happens now?

Ltestino@dailymemphian.com (Laura Testino) — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 10:41:44 -0500

The closures prompted questions. What would happen to students, staff and the buildings themselves? Can more closures could happen in the future, and could charter schools could be among schools on the chopping block. Let’s get into it.

As forensic audit results loom, MSCS to update certain processes

Ltestino@dailymemphian.com (Laura Testino) — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 06:44:05 -0500

Announced changes to business and records-keeping processes at Memphis-Shelby County Schools offer clues about what recommendations forensic auditors may soon publicize.

MSCS pitches ‘accountability plan’ alternative to state takeover

Ltestino@dailymemphian.com (Laura Testino) — Fri, 6 Mar 2026 18:47:20 -0600

Billed as “a proactive alternative to state-imposed governance,” the new intervention would create a Memphis-Shelby County Schools board committee of local elected officials and community members.

Family files $35 million wrongful death suit against Youth Villages

Ltestino@dailymemphian.com (Laura Testino) — Mon, 2 Mar 2026 15:55:42 -0600

Matthew De’Marcus Williams, 22, was shot and killed while attending a violence intervention program meeting in 2025. His family has filed a wrongful death suit against Youth Villages.

MSCS could challenge state takeover in court

Ltestino@dailymemphian.com (Laura Testino) — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 19:30:48 -0600

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.

These five Memphis schools will close this summer

Ltestino@dailymemphian.com (Laura Testino) — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 13:58:52 -0600

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.

Busy year of hiring, firing, reassigning led to payroll problems at MSCS, audit finds

Ltestino@dailymemphian.com (Laura Testino) — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 05:39:51 -0600

The regular audit is separate from the state-ordered forensic audit of the Memphis school system. The forensic audit is underway.

MSCS could close five schools to students with Tuesday board vote

Ltestino@dailymemphian.com (Laura Testino) — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 06:16:25 -0600

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.