One of the biggest challenges the next superintendent of Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) will inherit is the aging infrastructure of the district’s schools.
The average age of school buildings in the district is 64 years old. That’s 24 years older than the recommended life span of school buildings nationwide and district is currently considering options to fund $500 million school upgrades and address the district’s deferred maintenance costs.
With an eye towards this challenge, school board members asked each of the five semi-finalists for the superintendent position about their experience with facilities and operations Friday.
Their answers could play an important role in the board’s decision tonight to narrow those five down to three finalists. Here’s how all five responded.
Yolanda C. Brown
Chief Academic Officer of Atlanta Public Schools Yolanda C. Brown told board members that as a senior leader in the district, she was at the table to discuss and handle facility and operations. She engaged with the facilities master planning process in Atlanta so the district could specifically address enrollment patterns and changing demographic patterns across Atlanta.
Brown also discussed the assessment of the buildings, the academic needs that each facility will serve, and the available funding for those improvements.
“Facilities and operations are in service to academics,” said Brown. “All of those conversations, I’m sitting at the table. While I’m not the chief operations officer, those decisions are never made without me there to have conversations. Because again, operations and facilities management is in service to the academic programming of a school district.”
Cheryl Proctor
As Deputy Superintendent of Instruction and School Communities for Portland Public School, Proctor told board members that the community voice is important when working with facilities and operations.
Proctor is working with the school modernization team to do a refresh and rebuild of all Portland high schools. The district recently completed one high school and is currently in the process of asking community members what they’d like to see for one of the high schools in a historically black neighborhood.
Proctor also works closely with the district’s chief operating officer to ensure that the needs of the community are met and develop a strong plan.
“When it comes to facilities management, we want to make sure that we have safe schools for all our students, comfortable learning environments for our teachers and staff each and every day,” said Proctor. “Working with school modernization teams, working with our Chief Operation Officer, working with our facilities team to really ensure that we’re able to provide a safe school environment that would maximize learning and teaching for our educators, students, and staff.”
Marie N. Feagins
Chief of Leadership and High Schools for Detroit Public Schools Marie Feagins told board members that it’s important for students to feel safe since facilities directly impact achievement.
Feagins says because she hasn’t worked in new facilities often, she’s familiar with aging infrastructures. She’s made the decisions to close and open buildings, worked with the community to get feedback on repurposing buildings and keeping them informed, and working with executive teams and school leaders.
She’s also been involved in the financial decisions, making sure maintenance is done in a timely manner, and ensuring the visual look of the schools as well.
“When it comes to grounds maintenance, I’ve cut the grass before, I have scraped the vulgar words off the wall and repainted – I’m not above or beyond doing the work. I know that it would look different in this capacity, but I’m sharing my experience along the way because I want what’s good for kids to always be in existence,” said Feagins.
Carlton D. Jenkins
Retired Superintendent of the Wisconsin Madison Metropolitan School District Carlton Jenkins approached this question from a slightly more personal standpoint. Instead of focusing on his experience with facilities and operation, Jenkins told board members that taking away schools takes away resources such as mental health and law enforcement.
Jenkins says he traveled around Memphis and looked at some of the buildings that have closed or have been repurposed and discussed what needs to be done to improve maintenance, such as more funding and making a comprehensive plan. He told board members that he intends to go line item by line item to ensure how the district is utilizing their funds will be good for the community.
“When you’re thinking about the facilities, you don’t just look at them and say ‘we want a pretty building.’ The building must have a purpose and maintenance of a building must take place just like in your own home,” said Jenkins. “If you do everything with children in mind, everything else flows like music.”
Angela Whitelaw
MSCS Deputy Superintendent of Schools and Academic Support Angela Whitelaw brought forward her experience as a principal to explain how she would approach facility and operational needs. She told board members that it’s important to keep track of both the inside and outside of district buildings, issues that arise with the HVAC systems, identifying what needs to be painted, what leaks may be present, and more.
Whitelaw’s work with Memphis Shelby County Schools has involved her in key roles such as transitioning the state-run Achievement School District (ASD) schools back to the district, helping decide what improvements the buildings need, along with emergency facility related decisions.
Whitelaw says communication between staff, faculty, and community was also important along with what rooms can be utilized. Additionally, being able to work with the different parties involved such as the board members, school, and operations team was a highlight in her answer.
“It comes (to) working together as a cross-collaborative team, but also bringing the expertise from the academics division, the operation division, as well as the planning around facilities,” said Whitelaw.
The district has been searching for a new superintendent since former superintendent Joris Ray resigned in July 2022.
