Closures, spending, superintendent hires: What could state appointees decide about Memphis schools?
Tennessee lawmakers in the Senate could cast a first floor vote on the takeover bill Wednesday, April 22, and a final House of Representatives vote could soon follow. (Mark Humphrey/AP file)
NASHVILLE — A Tennessee proposal to take over Memphis-Shelby County Schools would give state leaders tremendous decision-making authority over Tennessee’s largest school district until at least 2030.
Nine appointees to an oversight board would have sweeping powers typically reserved for the nine elected school board members and their superintendent.
The new board could 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.
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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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