With State Audit Looming, Memphis-Shelby County Superintendent’s Job Security Weakened
MSCS Superintendent Dr. Roderick Richmond. (Photo from MSCS)
The long-awaited forensic audit that was ordered to address speculation of “fraud, waste, and abuse of resources” in Memphis-Shelby County Schools is days away from release, according to a Facebook post by Representative Mark White, R-Memphis.
White announced on Thursday that the audit is nearly finished, and he indicated that once released, lawmakers will move forward with his plan to create a board of nine state-appointed managers to oversee the district.
“What that looks like is we move our Memphis-Shelby County school system forward, so that we can continue to help our young people in our community with graduation and workforce development and make our city stronger,” White said in the video.
Next Steps in Nashville
The House approved White’s plan to create a board of managers last year, but the legislation stalled when the Senate approved a competing plan for state intervention. Both chambers announced an agreement to move forward with White’s version in January, but the Senate has yet to take up the issue.
White’s proposal is a direct response to the school board’s decision last year to fire former Superintendent Marie Feagins after less than a year on the job and years of low performance. If approved, the district’s superintendent and school board would largely be relegated to advisory roles and would not be able to make key decisions or approve a budget without this board’s sign-off.
The possibility of state intervention and the looming audit led the Memphis-Shelby County School Board to take the unusual step of essentially removing the job security of the district’s newly elevated leader.
Why Make Richmond Interim Again?
The board named Dr. Roderick Richmond as the district’s superintendent last month, but opted to revert his status back to “interim” at a special-called meeting Wednesday night.
One of the primary reasons for the board’s decision was to avoid a clause in the superintendent’s contract that would leave the district on the hook for 18 months of salary and benefits if Richmond if this proposed board of managers decides to terminate him without cause on or before June 30, 2027, or 12 months of salary and benefits if he is terminated after that date.
Keeping Richmond on board on an interim status would avoid the risk of a district-subsidized payout.
The Board’s Plan
Earlier this month, Memphis-Shelby County School Board members announced a plan to stave off state intervention with the assistance of other elected leaders. The Local Accountability and Transformation Plan has been in the works for more than a year and outlines academic benchmarks, fiscal and operational improvements, and a commitment to additional enhancements.
The board was set to vote on it on Wednesday, but board member Sable Otey withdrew her resolution, sending it to an unnamed committee meeting in the future.
Otey gave an impassioned speech emphasizing the need for community and business support to address broader issues facing student success, such as poverty and hunger. She also fought back against the notion that teachers could be to blame for the district’s lack of educational improvement.
“These teachers work all day long,” Otey said. “They can't do everything. I was an educator. I know. We go home with the burden of the issue that these kids come to school with dirty clothes. They're not eating. We can't do everything. We can't be their coaches, their mentors, their parents. We can't do it all. We need the support. We don't need people consistently complaining, and they're not supporting. That's what we don't need.”
