There are 44 article(s) tagged MSCS takeover:
The consulting group advising Memphis schools’ state takeover board has worked on similar efforts nationwide, including a Colorado takeover that ended in a lawsuit, and has been the subject of federal and state investigations in Florida.
Tennessee’s takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools has been paused again.
None of the nine state appointees poised to take control of the Memphis-Shelby County Schools system will say whether they intend to act on the superintendent hiring timeline included in documents most of them voted to accept. Related content:
U.S. District Court Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. lifted an earlier block on the State of Tennessee’s takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools.
Takeover board Chair Billy Orgel’s sworn statement is expected to lift a three-month hold on the state’s takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools. But its unclear if the board’s new plans will capture all expenses it should review under state law.
Tamarques Porter and Sable Otey, two MSCS board members recently elected as this year’s chair and vice chair respectively, say they’re confident they can weather the storm.
A consulting firm that worked with Houston’s school system during its takeover has quietly played a key role in readying the state-appointed board to resume control of Memphis-Shelby County Schools.
Attorneys for Memphis-Shelby County Schools and Shelby County government filed a new lawsuit in Shelby County Chancery Court
The meeting comes less than a week after a judge said he “didn’t mean to imply” the oversight board couldn’t do its work with a July 1 order, which MSCS and the state interpreted as a temporary halt.
How the oversight board determines what “ready” means could revive early criticisms from MSCS that the appointees lacked necessary structures to assume power over the school system.
It is unclear what the judge’s clarification from the bench on Friday, Oct. 2, may mean for control of Tennessee’s largest school system.
Arguments in the case are expected to determine whether the takeover remains paused or whether the new state-appointed board of nine regains control over Memphis-Shelby County Schools.
“The MSCS system is in crisis,” attorneys for Memphis Lift, Seeding Success and three family members of Memphis-Shelby County Schools students wrote.
“It’s time for Shelby County government, including the new mayor-elect and county commissioners-elect, to exit their lawsuit against the MSCS oversight board and get to work rebuilding opportunity for Memphis students.”
Memphis-Shelby County Schools’ court challenge of the state’s takeover of the school system has cost at least $211,700 in legal fees, according to MSCS and Shelby County government officials.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris talks about his eight years as mayor on “Behind The Headlines” and the challenges facing his successor, Mayor-elect Mickell Lowery.
The takeover remains on a federal court-ordered pause issued after the board had met for about two weeks. Meanwhile, school closures, mergers and relocations mean big changes for about 5,000 Memphis students returning to class.
“Here is my challenge to Memphis as a new school year begins: Move Memphis, mane! Move beyond the debates long enough to remember the reason we have them in the first place: our children.”
John DeBerry, the Republican nominee for Shelby County mayor, talked on “Behind The Headlines” about state intervention in Memphis and Shelby County as well as his hopes for a gradual withdrawal of the Memphis Safe Task Force.
Democratic nominee for County Mayor Mickell Lowery talked about state intervention, his vote to raise county property taxes and tax breaks as economic development incentives on “Behind The Headlines.”
Together4Students is the latest local group to join a cadre of Memphis advocates for school reform. It is urging the district to drop its state takeover lawsuit.
MSCS qualifies for a takeover in part because of state test performance, low-performing schools and student attendance. But state appointees to an oversight board don’t have to improve all of those metrics for the takeover to end.
In federal court documents, the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General filed motions to dismiss the school district’s lawsuit and dissolve an earlier court order pausing the takeover.
Even before a federal judge halted the state takeover of MSCS, it’s unclear whether the new oversight board had final-approval authority over any of the other contracts elected board members approved Tuesday. And the questions don’t stop there.Related content:
A federal judge has ordered Tennessee to halt its takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools. In the wake of that order, the state oversight board canceled its Wednesday afternoon meeting.
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