School Takeover Bill Branded as Racist – But Is It?

Should state governments take control of underperforming school districts? That’s the path Tennessee is taking. The General Assembly recently passed House Bill 662/Senate Bill 714, legislation that would allow the creation of a nine-member oversight board with authority to make decisions affecting the operations of local schools.

While the bill could extend to other school districts across the Volunteer State, only Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) meets the legislation’s requirements for state intervention, which include at least four of the following: leadership instability, academic underperformance, D or F school grades, priority school status, chronic absenteeism, and financial mismanagement.

Despite being part of the lone academic system in the State of Tennessee to meet the bill’s criteria, local school officials with MSCS are considering filing a lawsuit over the bill. Why? Because according to them, it’s racist. 

School Improvement or Racism?

“We are the largest public school system, the blackest public school system in the state of Tennessee,” board member Stephanie Love said. “They are targeting our buildings and our money. And this board isn't going to let them do it without a fight."

But an interim forensic audit of MSCS, released by Tennessee Comptroller Jason E. Mumpower, revealed “widespread operational breakdowns flagged as waste or abuse.” The audit uncovered over 170 defects, including recurring weaknesses related to the district’s internal operations, procurement practices, documentation, and records management.

Auditors identified $1,146,000 in waste or abuse, including over $1.1 million in contract-related spending and over $33,000 in payroll-related transactions. At least $1.7 million “in transactions violated district policies and procedures.” The report also noted that personnel files are not being properly stored: When auditors asked for 250 I-9 records, local officials failed to find nearly half of the documents. Plus, dozens of MSCS schools received D or F grades in the 2024-25 school year.

The Legislation

Sponsored by State Rep. Mark White and State Sen. Brent Taylor, both Republicans from Memphis, the legislation aims to improve academic success and college readiness by establishing an oversight board to help local education officials tackle underperforming areas.

The board will be responsible for performing a comprehensive needs assessment “regarding the number and qualifications of teachers, average and maximum class sizes, quality of textbooks and instructional materials, parental involvement strategies, mentoring and professional development opportunities for new teachers, an analysis of the student population served, school safety, financial statement and accounting practices, facility and maintenance needs, and employment contracts and grant opportunities,” according to the Tennessee House Republicans Caucus.

The proposed board will serve for four years but will be dissolved if it fails to oversee certain benchmarks in the local education agency, at which point a new board would take over for an additional two years.

“For too long, administrative mismanagement and inefficiency have undermined student success in Memphis. That ends now,” White said in a statement, adding that an oversight board is “a necessary step to restore accountability to MSCS and ensure children in our community have the resources and support they so desperately need and deserve.”

Now the bill heads to Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s desk. He’ll have to decide if the legislation effectively addresses underperforming schools or unfairly targets specific districts.