Five Memphis-Shelby County School Board seats could be up for re-election two years early

MSCS Board Members Natalie McKinney (upper left), Stephanie Love (upper center), Tamarques Porter (upper right), Sable Otey (lower left), and Towanna Murphy (lower right) (Photos by Memphis-Shelby County Schools)

Last month members of the Tennessee House and Senate failed to iron out the differences between each chamber’s bill to provide state intervention into Memphis-Shelby County Schools. The impasse effectively tabled the proposal until next year, but lawmakers did pass an unrelated bill in the closing hours of the session that could still create a major shake-up in the district.

Once signed by Governor Bill Lee, Senate Bill 1336/House Bill 1383 will give county commissioners in Shelby and Knox County the authority to re-align school board elections onto the same cycle as other county races, even if that means shortening some board members’ terms.  The legislation would also align school board seats with the same term limit of two terms that commissioners can serve.

In Shelby County, voters elected 5 school board members last year and under the legislation, county commissioners would have the ability to place all five seats up for re-election next year, along with the four other seats already scheduled for re-election.

Monday, Shelby County Board of Commissioners Chair Michael Whaley indicated he’s planning to propose something along those lines at the board’s next meeting. Whaley did not go into specifics of his future proposal, but the legislation would give commissioners the ability to place the school board seats currently held by Natalie McKinney, Stephanie Love, Tamarques Porter, Sable Otey, and Towanna Murphy up for vote two years early.

Controversy and performance led to calls for change

Some members of the General Assembly have been publicly calling for leadership changes in Memphis-Shelby County Schools since last year, when school board members began the process of  firing former Superintended Dr. Marie Feagins after less than a year on the job. Lawmakers have additionally criticized district leaders for underperformance.

Senator Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, led his chamber’s effort for state intervention in the school district, though he framed his reasons for filing Senate Bill 1336 on the Senate floor in different terms. Taylor argued Memphis school board races have seen roughly twice the turnout when they occur during the same election as county commission races.

“This will save counties money, and it will also ensure that increased voter participation will occur when you align the school board election with the county commission elections,” said Taylor last month.

During the debate, fellow Memphis Senator London Lamar, D-Memphis, pointed out the bill served some of the same goals as the intervention legislation. Lamar voted against both bills.

“In an attempt to be a solution to a form of chaos I think that this isn’t the way to do it,” said Lamar.

Shelby County Commissioner Mick Wright (Photo by Shelby County Board of Commissioners)

During Monday’s discussion at the Shelby County Board of Commissioners meeting multiple commissioners, including District 3 Commissioner Mick Wright including expressed disappointment that the General Assembly didn’t provide them with more authority to call for an outright recall of school board members.

“We pay attention to what our state legislature and what our state leaders are saying, and when they say that they are waiting on us to bring a local solution but they don’t provide us the tools with which to enact that solution, that’s very frustrating because we have constituents that are asking us daily to do something about the state of our schools and we just simply don’t have a lot of tools,” said Wright.