Local Education, Memphis Sky Arnold Local Education, Memphis Sky Arnold

Memphis district may drop ServiceMaster custodial contract as cleanliness concerns persist

Memphis-Shelby County Schools wants to clean up the way it cleans up its schools.Last year, the board approved a four-year, $34 million contract with ServiceMaster Clean to provide custodial services across the district. The cost was significantly higher than the previous year, when the work was split between two providers, but MSCS sought a wage increase to $15 an hour, which the district argued would help it hire and retain workers.

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Local Education, Memphis Sky Arnold Local Education, Memphis Sky Arnold

New legislation to raise teacher pay hasn’t quieted calls in Memphis for better compensation for all educators

The recent passage of a teacher pay raise by the Tennessee General Assembly hasn’t quelled calls to improve the compensation for Memphis educators.Multiple teachers and social workers appeared at last week’s Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) Board of Education meeting to demand better compensation and higher salaries for their work.

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Local Education, Memphis Sky Arnold Local Education, Memphis Sky Arnold

Students and alumni plead for Fairley High to remain open as a public charter school

Fairley High School students and alumni told the Memphis-Shelby County School Board they want the school to remain open as a public charter school.Fairley is among five public charter schools that have applied to transition out of the state’s Achievement School District (ASD) and into Memphis-Shelby County Schools. School Board members denied all five during Tuesday evening’s meeting.

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Local Education, Memphis Sky Arnold Local Education, Memphis Sky Arnold

Memphis-Shelby County School Board denies five applications for new public charter schools with one vote

School board members with Memphis-Shelby County Schools denied all five applications for new public charter schools with one vote Tuesday.The board opted to follow the recommendation of the district review committee and vote down applications by Empower Memphis Career and College Prep, Grizzlies Prep STEAM School for Girls, Pathways in Education, the CHANGE Academy and the Tennessee Career Academy.

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Local Education, Memphis Sky Arnold Local Education, Memphis Sky Arnold

One candidate emerges and two exit in search for a new Memphis-Shelby County School superintendent

The search for a new superintendent to lead Memphis-Shelby County Schools took another unexpected turn Tuesday.Former Boston Public Schools superintendent Brenda Casselius withdrew her name from the search, while search firm Hazard, Young, Attea, and Associates recommended an additional candidate, MSCS deputy superintendent Angela Whitelaw.

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Local Education, Memphis Sky Arnold Local Education, Memphis Sky Arnold

Memphis superintendent search put on pause after reveal of the three finalists

Memphis-Shelby County Schools board members postponed finalist interviews for the next superintendent until further notice Saturday following allegations of a lack of transparency.The search firm hired by the district, Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates, named former Boston Public Schools superintendent Brenda Casselius, Madison Metropolitan School District superintendent Carlton Jenkins, and Interim Superintendent Tutonial “Toni” Williams as finalists for the position.

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Memphis, Nashville, State Government Sky Arnold Memphis, Nashville, State Government Sky Arnold

Representatives Jones and Pearson reappointed to office following ouster

The expulsions of two Democratic lawmakers last week may not last long after all.Wednesday afternoon members of the Shelby County Commission unanimously voted to reappoint Representative Justin J. Pearson.  That vote followed a Metro Council move to reappoint Representative Justin Jones to his Nashville seat.

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Hanley School in Tennessee’s turnaround district will return to MSCS control

For the first time, a charter school in Tennessee’s turnaround district will exit the state program and return to the Memphis district’s management, Memphis-Shelby County Schools announced this week.Hanley School, a K-8 school in Orange Mound, was taken over by the state and placed in the Achievement School District a decade ago to be run by a charter operator.

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