By Bri Hatch
A federal judge appears poised to allow the state takeover of Memphis schools to move forward as soon as the oversight board says it’s ready to seize control of Tennessee’s largest school district.
U.S. District Court Judge Waverly Crenshaw filed an order Monday indicating that he will soon remove a temporary block on the state-appointed board after months of delay. That came days after the first hearing on Memphis-Shelby County Schools’ lawsuit against the state takeover, where Crenshaw said he never intended the block to be long term.
Crenshaw ordered the oversight board chair to notify the court under oath once the board is “ready, willing, and able” to begin its work, a step that could allow the politically appointed board to assume control of the district within days.
Oversight board Chair Billy Orgel did not respond to Chalkbeat’s request for comment on whether or when he would file a statement of readiness with the federal court. Chalkbeat also reached out to the Tennessee Attorney General’s office, who is representing the oversight board, for comment.
The state board was set to start its four-year term on July 1. But Crenshaw issued a temporary block on the takeover the day before, in an early win for MSCS and Shelby County officials challenging the law passed this spring authorizing the takeover.
District officials argued then that the new governance structure had no processes in place to handle major financial decisions like maintenance contracts that could significantly affect school operations ahead of the new school year. Early meetings in June revealed the board did not have established state emails or even a set location to hold its meetings.
It’s unclear whether the board has been working behind the scenes this fall to establish those processes, given Crenshaw’s earlier order.
Under the state takeover, the new state board — which includes a former MSCS superintendent and statewide teacher of the year — would seize control over the district’s annual budget and staffing decisions.
During Friday’s hearing, Crenshaw expressed skepticism about MSCS’ argument that the state takeover violates students’ constitutional rights and partially ruled in favor of the state by dismissing Gov. Bill Lee and other state leaders as defendants in the lawsuit.
Both sides are expected to file further court documents this month as Crenshaw considers dismissing the lawsuit altogether.
The members of the state oversight board, appointed by Tennessee Republican leaders this spring, are:
- Chair Billy Orgel, a local developer and former Memphis-Shelby County school board member
- Vice Chair Shanea McKinney of Cigna, who is a member of the University of Tennessee’s board of trustees
- Secretary Nisha Powers, who leads a Memphis civil engineering firm and has served on the Tennessee Board of Regents
- Dorsey Hopson, a former district superintendent
- Dedrick Brittenum Jr., a Memphis lawyer and former City Council member
- Beverly Robertson, a marketing executive and former president and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce
- Tyrone Burroughs, a Memphis CEO who sits on the Tennessee Lottery Commission and the Youth Villages’ board of directors
- David Mansouri, the sole board member who is not a Shelby County resident and the Nashville-based leader of one of Tennessee’s most influential education advocacy organizations
- Karen Vogelsang, a former Memphis teacher and 2015 Tennessee Teacher of the Year who now runs a literacy nonprofit
Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.
This story was originally published by Chalkbeat.
