The next Memphis-Shelby County Schools superintendent will need to solve a facility crisis. Here’s each candidate’s experience with similar challenges.

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.¶