Natalie McKinney is stepping into one of the most high-profile roles in Memphis education at a moment defined by controversy and change. On Tuesday, Sept 30, the Memphis-Shelby County Schools Board of Education elected her as its new chair, a decision that both reflected and deepened the divisions that have shaped the district since the removal of Superintendent Marie Feagins earlier this year.
McKinney secured six votes to lead the board through the 2025–26 school year. Every vote in her favor came from members who backed Feagins’ ouster in January. Former chair Joyce Dorse Coleman, who also supported the decision, was elected vice chair.
The board did not mention Feagins during the meeting, but the former superintendent’s departure loomed large. Several members spoke about past mistakes that cost the public’s trust, underscoring the fractures that remain.
“We’ve been in a challenging time, and there are even more issues on the horizon,” McKinney said after being elected. “We’re working to rebuild the district, focusing on student achievement and support.”
That rebuilding will not come easily. The board is contending with a $6 million audit, tough choices on potential school closures, and the likelihood of a new superintendent search this summer. At the same time, Tennessee lawmakers continue to push for a state-appointed board to assume control of the district, citing the turmoil surrounding Feagins’ removal as part of their justification.
Local government leaders have also turned up the pressure. Just last week, the Shelby County Commission voted to put all nine school board seats on the ballot in 2026, cutting five members’ terms short, including McKinney’s. Four of those shortened terms belong to members who voted to dismiss Feagins.
Not all members agreed with Tuesday’s outcome. Amber Huett-Garcia, who opposed Feagins’ ouster, was nominated for both leadership positions and received three votes for chair and four for vice chair. Before the vote, she told colleagues she was the best candidate to “rebuild trust” and urged them to embrace “fresh leadership.”
Board member Michelle McKissack supported Huett-Garcia and expressed frustration as she left the meeting early. “All that’s old is new again; we’ve just restored it,” she told reporters. “The decision is just not right.”
McKinney insists, however, that the board is moving forward with a new mindset. As chair of the district’s facilities committee, she has already been leading work on a plan to address $1.6 billion in deferred maintenance over the next decade. That effort recently led MSCS leaders to propose closing four schools and transferring a fifth to a neighboring district.
She says the community engagement around those proposals should be a model for how the board operates going forward.
“I want to make sure that we commit to codifying that, making it part of our DNA,” McKinney said. “That is something that the board, no matter who’s sitting in these seats, should be doing on a consistent basis.”
