MEMPHIS, Tenn — MSCS interim Superintendent Tutonial "Toni" Williams applied for the district's permanent job Wednesday despite previous statements from the MSCS school board that she was not interested in the job.
A spokesperson from Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates (HYA), the firm in charge of the MSCS Superintendent search, confirmed Williams applied for the permanent posts along with 24 other applicants from inside and outside the district.
We are working to confirm who the other applicants are and how many from within MSCS have applied.
Althea Greene, the chair of the Shelby County Board of Education, said in August, 2022, Toni Williams was chosen as the interim Superintendent largely because she had no intention of taking the permanent role.
“We decided that we wanted someone to serve as an interim who did not have intentions on applying for the superintendent [job],” Greene said. That's why I am nominating Chief Toni Williams, because she does not want the job as superintendent.
Fellow board member Michelle McKissack reiterated Greene's statements in August, saying Williams kept coming up as an ideal candidate for the interim role because she had no interest in the permanent job.
“When we looked at it, and we thought well they have all worked together over the years, a big point of it was that we were looking for someone who was not interested in serving in the permanent capacity,” MicKissack said on August 30. “She fit the bill in that regard.”
When we reached out to MSCS, they deferred all questions regarding the search to HYA.
We have yet to hear back from both the school board and Williams.
