What expertise will state picks bring to Memphis takeover?
The Memphis-Shelby County Schools takeover board so far includes, from left to right, (top) Dedrick Brittenum Jr., Tyrone Burroughs, Dorsey Hopson, (middle) David Mansouri, Shanea McKinney, Billy Orgel, (bottom) Nisha Powers and Beverly Robertson. (Photo illustration by Kelsey Bowen/The Daily Memphian)
Nine state appointees will have sweeping powers over Memphis-Shelby County Schools through 2030.
The new board can reshape how the district educates Memphis’ 100,000 students, where they go to school, who is in charge of those schools, and how $1.7 billion in local, state and federal funding is spent on education each year.
So who are these new board members? And what expertise will they bring to the Memphis schools takeover?
Here are short biographies of eight of them. One board member has yet to be identified; State House Speaker Cameron Sexton still has to announce his second and final appointment.
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Memphis-Shelby County Schools MSCS takeover Bill Lee Subscriber OnlyThank you for reading The Daily Memphian. Your support is critical.
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Laura 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. Reach Laura with questions, story ideas or tips: Ltestino@dailymemphian.com or Ldtestino.54 on Signal.
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