Memphis-Shelby County School Board Chair proposes creating three committees to help with superintendent search

The search for a new superintendent to lead Memphis-Shelby County Schools appears to be reaching its home stretch.Tuesday night School Board Chair Althea Greene requested the board to add three ad hoc committees to ensure members can play a part and be there for support.The first committee would focus on scoring and assessment and include board members Frank Johnson, Amber Huett-Garcia, and chair Althea Greene.Garcia questioned what this means for their role.“If eight people for example are brought before this board, what is the process to have three people before us? What does that look like? And even though we know all board members will play a part, I want to make sure there are people working on that particular ad hoc committee to make sure that there is a rubric or type of assessment that we will all agree on,” said Greene.The second committee’s job would be to ensure there’s a clear process with community input, and include board members Kevin Woods and Keith Williams.The final committee would work on communications and include board members Michelle McKissack and Mauricio Calvo. Board member Calvo is the CEO of organization Latino Memphis, and his inclusion is intended to ensure the Hispanic community is a part of the process.Vice chair Joyce Dorse Coleman Board and board member Stephanie Love will remain over the search and continue serving as the only two members allowed to reach out and handle all contact with the search firm Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates.

Proposed Committees Announced

The board also announced its proposed committees for the 2023-24 school year.Board members Greene and Williams would sit on the Academics Committee while Love and Calvo would be on the Communications Outreach Committee. The Event Evaluation Committee would have Greene and Frank Johnson.Coleman and Woods are proposed to sit on the Audit Budget Committee and the Policies, Legislative, and the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) Committee would have board members Love and McKissack under the proposed assignments.The board is also announcing two new committees.Love, Coleman, Calvo, and Greene would sit on the new Charter Compact Committee while the new Procurement Committee would include Garcia and Coleman.The school board will vote on these committees and the ad hoc committees during a future meeting.