The ongoing search for a new leader of the state’s largest school district is once again seeing another key date moved back.
At Tuesday night’s Memphis-Shelby County School Board meeting, Vice Chair Joyce Dorse-Coleman told board members the search process now aims to have five to eight candidates to interview by early December. Originally, the goal was to start board interviews in November.
Dorse-Coleman says the process is targeting having a new superintendent ready to start by July 1, 2024.
The district has been searching for a new superintendent since former superintendent Joris Ray resigned in July 2022.
The search process itself has been chaotic with complaints of a lack of transparency, a temporary pause last May to reorganize, and even the resignation the board’s former vice chair. These road bumps have combined to push back the initial search timeline that aimed to have a superintendent in place by July of this year.
Search firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA) is currently collecting applications and screening candidates nationwide.
Board member Mauricio Calvo questioned how the search firm is going to provide the board with their candidates and whether the board will extend the search if no candidates fit the bill.
Vice chair Joyce Dorse-Coleman said that wouldn’t be necessary.
“I have the utmost confidence in HYA that they will give us the best five to eight candidates and at that time, if we don’t get the best five to eight, immediately they will go back and bring us more. We’re not going to extend this any longer,” said Dorese-Coleman. “There are nine of us cause Frank (Johnson) will be back by then. We all not gonna like all of the same people. So, we’re gonna push forward as a unit to do what’s best for our district.”
Facilities Steering Committee Formed
Interim Superintendent Tutonial “Toni” Williams also announced the members of a Facilities Steering Committee that will work with the district on its facilities challenges.
The average age of school buildings in Memphis-Shelby County Schools is 64 years old. That’s 24 years older than the recommended life span of school buildings nationwide and Williams says the facilities inequalities are hurting student performance.
“We got to work together to fix this problem, so that our students can have the quality of education that they deserve. We must act with speed to address this infrastructure inequality,” said Williams.
The committee members include School Board Member Kevin Wood, Shelby County Board of Commissioners Chair Miska Clay Bibbs, Memphis City Council Chair Martavius Jones, Seeding Success CEO Mark Sturgis, State Senator Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, city planner John Zeanah, MSCS Director of Facility Planning Michelle Stuart, Baptist Memorial Hospital V.P. of Governmental Affairs Rev. Keith Norman, Universal Commercial Real Estate President Darrell Cobbins, Cushman and Wakefield CEO Greg Spillyards, Greater Memphis Chamber President Ted Townsend, and Black Business Association of Memphis President Earnest Strickland.
Williams also discussed some of the work that’s underway to repair facility issues at district schools.
Cummings School is currently receiving exterior painting, lighting replacements, bathroom upgrades, a mural installation, exterior fencing, roofing repairs, and window replacements. The renovations are slated to be completed by April 2024.
Peabody Elementary School is receiving mold remediation, French drain installation, ground piping, landscape regrating, pressure washing, improving the drainage, and rerouting the down spouts underground. Peabody families will be updated on the progress during fall break.
The board also unanimously approved an Williams’ infrastructure resolution to develop a plan to address the district’s infrastructure needs and communicate those plans to the public.
“This is more around strategic planning. Not just buildings, but academic, organizational, and physical that promote a learning environment for students and staff in the community and whereas while instructional quality is known to have an impact on student achievement, a growing body of research indicates that the physical condition of school facilities has a profound impact on student health, behavior, engagement, and growth and achievement, and staff recruitment, retention, satisfaction and performance,” said Williams.
