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Memphis-Shelby County faculty leaders will host a group assembly to debate proposed faculty closures subsequent week in Frayser, the place two colleges are slated to be shut down this 12 months.
The “listening session” will happen from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Oct. 22 on the North Frayser Group Heart. In a press launch, MSCS leaders described the occasion as “an opportunity for households and group members to have their voices heard and get necessary data” a couple of vary of points: “the proposed faculty closures, Board Members roles & tasks, obtainable group sources, and historic context of the state takeover.”
Final month, Interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond introduced his proposal to shut 4 colleges and switch management of a fifth to a neighboring district. The prompt closures of Ida B. Wells Academy, Chickasaw Center, and Georgian Hills and Frayser-Corning Elementary colleges come as MSCS faces a billion-dollar upkeep invoice and power underenrollment throughout its buildings.
There are nonetheless many unanswered questions surrounding the proposed faculty closures, together with what’s going to occur to lecturers and workers. The district and the state don’t observe the variety of workers in every constructing, so it’s unclear what number of might be displaced by the closures.
MSCS faculty board members are anticipated to vote on Richmond’s prompt faculty shutdowns in February. They’d take impact for the 2026-27 faculty 12 months.
Richmond mentioned at September’s assembly that the district will current extra data on rezoning plans for displaced college students someday this month. He additionally mentioned MSCS leaders will host a minimum of two listening periods for every faculty on the proposed closure listing earlier than the top of the calendar 12 months.
Correction: An earlier model of this story referred to the occasion as the primary of a number of city corridor occasions centered on the proposed faculty closures. District officers later clarified that this occasion is separate from that deliberate collection.
Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Colleges for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Attain Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.
