SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. — State lawmakers are currently pushing to allow the University of Memphis to develop its own K-12 public school district.
The university currently operates four schools — serving kids from kindergarten to high school. They currently fall under the purview of MSCS, but Shelby County Republicans Rep. Mark White and Sen. Brent Taylor have introduced bills that would amend current state law and separate them into their own school district.
The four university schools are currently some of the best performing in the state of Tennessee, all receiving ‘A’ grades from the state. Currently, enrollment at those schools is capped at just over 1,000 students. Under the bill, expansion could be on the table.
“We are excited by the opportunity to expand our model to serve more local children and families, and we look forward to continuing a positive collaboration with our local school district partners,” the University of Memphis told ABC24 in a statement.
If the change were to go through, MSCS could no longer claim those schools’ results as part of their own. The school district said on Wednesday they are "closely monitoring" the situation.
Some see the move as another way to funnel resources away from those in need. The demographics of the university schools are much whiter and higher-income than the rest of MSCS.
“I’m worried that it won’t serve kids that need it the most,” said Sarah Carpenter, executive director of The Memphis Lift, which works with underserved students. “I serve families that don't have a chance and that's what I work for. If it's not going to do that, I can’t support it.”
This new education pathway would also remove the functions of the traditional school board. Instead, school governance would be handled by the University’s Board of Trustees.
“We got to do better in this city for kids that really need it," Carpenter said. "We got to do better. And when kids really need it, get it, guess what? The whole city wins.”