MEMPHIS, Tenn. — With a federal court block now lifted, the nine-member state-appointed oversight board named by Tennessee can start making calls for Memphis-Shelby County Schools, the biggest school system in Tennessee.
The district itself is a product of a 2013 merger that joined the old Memphis City Schools with Shelby County Schools, and it now faces another change in who controls it.
U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr. dissolved the July block on Thursday after the board’s chair said it was ready to act under Public Chapter 1057. The panel now holds sway over the biggest levers a district has: the budget, whether any schools close, who leads the system as superintendent, and what is taught in classrooms.
Local officials have fought the move, but some say the district now has to find a way to work with the state. MSCS board vice chair Sable Otey said the local board still opposes the takeover yet has long favored cooperation with state and county bodies.
Towanna Murphy, the county commissioner for District 7, wants the oversight board to meet in Memphis. So far its sessions have been held online or in Nashville. Murphy warned that families and staff face a ripple effect while nobody knows which schools might close or how the next budget will look.
State lawmakers have floated the Houston school takeover in Texas as a possible model for Memphis, an idea Murphy questioned.
The fight in court is not finished. A federal lawsuit remains open, and a separate challenge in Shelby County Chancery Court is waiting for a new judge after the original judge stepped aside.
For parents, the near-term question is when the board will make its first major decisions on closings and leadership, and whether it will hold those meetings where Memphis families can attend.
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