Hey y’all, here are my notes from the Memphis Shelby County Schools October 22 Board Business Meeting! In this post, you’ll find highlights from the meeting, including special recognitions, updates on committee chair and vice chair assignments, discussions on instructional programs, and important details from the Superintendent’s Report.

You’ll also see key conversations around truancy, facility concerns, and wage increases for hourly employees. I’ve also provided links to important documents so you can dive deeper into specific topics.

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Special Recognition

• Board members recognized community members and students from their respective districts. This will be a regular practice moving forward. Recognition included National Merit Scholars and the YMCA for stepping in during the fall break. A representative from the YMCA spoke on the outcomes of the fall break partnership.
• Board Members gave a special birthday video tribute to General Counsel Justin Bailey. 

Committee Chair/Vice Chair Assignments

• Academic Committee: Commissioner Williams and Commissioner Otey
• Audit and Finance Committee: Commissioner Huett-Garcia and Commissioner Love
• Charter School Committee: Commissioner McKissack and Commissioner Love
• Community Engagement Committee: Commissioner Love and Commissioner Murphy
• Evaluation Committee: Commissioner Coleman and Commissioner Huett-Garcia
• Policy Committee: Commissioner Love and Commissioner McKinney
• Procurement Committee: Commissioner Coleman and Commissioner Porter
• Budget Committee: Commissioner Huett-Garcia and Commissioner Porter
• Facilities Committee: Commissioner Coleman and Commissioner Otey
• Policy Modernization Committee: Commissioner Love and Commissioner McKinney

Budget Committee Discussion

• Commissioner Otey: What instructional programs were discontinued this year? Principals and teachers have expressed concern.
  • Superintendent Feagins: Instructional programs is a broad category. Can you provide more context?
  • Commissioner Otey: Principals mentioned having to pay $26,000 from their school budgets for a discontinued program that was needed.
  • Superintendent Feagins: Mastery Connect is being reviewed legally due to a data breach. Some schools use ANet, and we use I-Ready for K-8.
• Commissioner Williams: How much money is collected for premiums? Are we capitalizing on employee expenses?
  • District: We are spending more than we are collecting. Due to increased claims post-COVID, the general fund is supporting insurance funds.

Evaluation Committee

• Commissioner Huett-Garcia: Can you clarify where we are in the evaluation process and next steps?
  • Commissioner Coleman: There will be a special-called meeting, and everything will be completed by next Thursday, October 31.

Superintendent’s Report

• Here is a copy of the Superintendent’s Report 
• Increased Student Enrollment by 2.4% Year-to-Year 
  • Week Nine: 2023-24: 108,610 
  • Week Nine: 2024-25: 111,170
  • Commissioner McKinney: Can we get the enrollment number for traditional MSCS schools (excluding charter)?  Additionally, can slides be posted on Board Docs for public access? (slides were later posted)
• Attendance to date:
  • Present Rate: 93.2% 
  • Truancy Rate: 10.3% 
  • Chronically Absent High-Risk Rate: 22.9%
• Facilities: Electrical and HVAC concerns are ongoing, but work orders are down—updates on Project Build.
  • Commissioner McKissack: Urgency is needed regarding water fountains at Peabody; some are still sitting in boxes.
    • Superintendent Feagins: A foundational assessment has been completed, and we are working on getting all schools to fill water bottles.
    • Commissioner McKissack: Are principals aware of the timeline? Will this issue be resolved this school year?
    • Superintendent Feagins: Plumbing work is needed, but Peabody is a priority. We are confident we will complete what remains related to water bottle fillers.
  • Commissioner Love: How many schools have work orders that have been pending for over three years? Two schools in my district have complained for years. Feagins said she would provide that information.
• Dual Enrollment: 2,966 students are enrolled in dual enrollment, an increase from last year.
• Reach 180: This is designed to provide families the support they need to attend school consistently.
  • Over 1500 students were invited, and 341 students and families attended the first event and received turnaround action plans. Forty community partners were present, and 109 students will receive official letters from juvenile court.
  • Commissioner McKinney: How many students were we trying to reach?
    • Superintendent Feagins: We invited about 1,500 students, but we could have invited more than 4,000 if we included students absent for at least six days this year. Of the invited students, 341 attended.
    • Commissioner McKinney: I appreciate this initiative. Did we collect feedback from parents to reduce attendance barriers to these events?  Feagins stated she would gather and provide that information.
• Communication Initiatives: Introduction of District Docs and MSCS Monthly Newsletter.
• Transparency Commitment: A draft copy of the superintendent’s quarter one report was provided.
  • Commissioner Huett-Garcia: What are you most proud of? What works best, and how can the board help with resource management?
    • Superintendent Feagins: I am proud of the leaders who continue to show up daily despite challenges (she gets emotional and pauses).
    • Commissioner Huett-Garcia: Thank you for your commitment.
    • Commissioner McKinney: Thank you for your hard work; this is a tough job, but we also have much to celebrate (crowd applauds).
    • Superintendent Feagins: I am proud of the COME to WIN program. Within 40 days, more than 50,000 students have only one absence. We are also focusing on Head Start and Pre-K resources. We want to expand transportation proximity, which could provide transportation for thousands of students and cost around $30 million. We still have many teacher vacancies and are preparing bids for virtual learning. 

Additional Discussion

• Commissioner Murphy: What are we doing for our hourly employees regarding wages?
  • Superintendent Feagins: Nutrition workers will see increases. We are also looking at raises for teaching assistants.
• Commissioner Murphy: I request that the Ramsey Education item be removed from the consent agenda for further questions.
  • Commissioner McKinney: How will this removal impact students?
    • Superintendent Feagins: Over 5,000 students from 29 high schools were involved last year. We are working on additional options, but please keep the program active now.
  • Commissioner Huett-Garcia: Many community members appreciated the push for local talent. While I was a vocal critic, I do not want to hold this up and would like to vote on this today.
  • Commissioner Otey: It needed to be clarified that students were currently enrolled in this program.
  • Superintendent Feagins: I learned about the contract expiration when you all did after teachers emailed saying the program had expired. We will be proactive about contract expiration dates moving forward.

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As always, I’ll keep you updated as soon as new information becomes available.

In the meantime, here are the notes from the latest evaluation committee meeting. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter to stay informed on all developments.

I encourage you to check out my latest YouTube video where I discuss the staff relations competency, how it’s measured, and review how Dr. Feagins has been performing in this critical area so far.