MSCS’ Richmond rebuts arguments for state takeover
“State intervention in Memphis schools has historically failed to improve outcomes,” Memphis-Shelby County Schools interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond said at a town hall on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
Roderick Richmond, the interim leader of Memphis-Shelby County Schools, pointed to failures of Tennessee’s state-run Achievement School District during a town hall meeting opposing takeover of the school system.
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Memphis-Shelby County Schools Tennessee General AssemblyLaura Testino
Laura Testino is an enterprise reporter on The Daily Memphian’s metro team who writes most often about how education policies shape the lives of children and families. She regularly contributes to coverage of breaking news events and actions of the Tennessee General Assembly. Testino’s journalism career in Memphis began six years ago at The Commercial Appeal, where she began chronicling learning disruptions associated with the pandemic, and continued with Chalkbeat, where she dug into education administration in Memphis. Her reporting has appeared in The New York Times, The Times-Picayune, The Tuscaloosa News and USA Today.
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