Memphis-Shelby County Schools board members seem poised to renew contracts with some education service providers facing pushback during a meeting on Tuesday, June 23. 

“I know I have work to do,” Superintendent Russell Dyer said. “I know areas I need to get stronger in and areas I’m going to work on this upcoming school year.”

Memphis-Shelby County Schools and Shelby County government allege Tennessee’s school takeover law unconstitutionally targets Memphis.

The new board overseeing Memphis-Shelby County Schools convened for the first time Thursday — in Nashville, with little notice, at 8:45 a.m. If the hope was to win over conflicted Memphians, this was a bizarre way to start.

Appointees have sweeping powers over decisions of the elected board and the district until 2030. But Thursday’s decisions focused more on establishing the new board’s own systems and operations rather than decisions about MSCS business — including who will lead the district.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton’s second appointee, former Memphis teacher and Tennessee Teacher of the Year, completes the state’s takeover board. 

An agenda for the meeting calls for election of officers on the state oversight board, as well as the appointment of committees.

Local dance director Katie Smythe’s new performing arts school recently bought Humes Middle, Elvis Presley’s alma mater in North Memphis. 

For Rhodes College, a small liberal arts college that prides itself on creating lifelong learners, apathy about reading can feel not just like a challenge but an affront to its mission. Here’s why students are reading less than ever — and what professors are doing about it.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools board members settled on a name for the district’s new high school in Frayser. Neighborhood charter school Libertas is also set to expand into high school grades.

Commissioners suggest funding should go to existing schools in need of repairs.

The Lakeland school board conducted its annual review of Superintendent Ted Horrell’s performance, giving him high marks across numerous categories.

In examining post-pandemic learning loss, officials at Leadership Preparatory Charter School came to a realization: Teachers were following scripted math curriculum a bit too closely.

The 275,000- to 300,000-square-foot facility is planned on Madison Avenue between the College of Pharmacy building and the demolished Holiday Inn building.

U of M in-state undergraduate students, the largest group of students at the school, will pay $11,760 in tuition and fees for the 2026-27 academic year.

University of Memphis tuition is set to increase for all students, with in-state undergrad costs for the 2026-2027 academic year rising 4.48%, or $504.

Here are short biographies of the appointees to the state takeover board, which will have sweeping powers over Memphis-Shelby County Schools through 2030.

This month, Trackeshia Love earned her associate’s degree from LeMoyne-Owen College, at the age of 47. And she’s just getting started. 

The decision to launch an investigation has left some of the employees who resigned feeling angry and persecuted.

The $1.7 billion plan for Memphis-Shelby County Schools could be shaken up by a new board of state appointees during the 2026-27 academic year.

Lt. Gov. McNally selected a former MSCS board member and a local attorney for the school takeover board. House Speaker Sexton tapped the leader of a Nashville-based education-policy group to the board. 

A 13-year-old referendum is sparking a budget battle in some Memphis suburbs as school boards see flat funding despite higher property values. However, government officials say they can freeze the funding due to other ways they contribute.

Among Gov. Lee’s five appointments to a Memphis schools takeover board are a former Memphis superintendent and former president of the Memphis Chamber.

With the completion of all levels of school campuses, Lakeland School System’s board concentrates growth in its $37.8 million budget on benefits for teachers and students.

Eric Gottlieb has been granted a Fulbright Scholar Award to teach and conduct research at the University of Primorska in Europe.