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60 days in, parents worry interim MSCS superintendent will become permanent

Community members are expecting the promised nationwide search for superintendent, despite the previous transfer of titles.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — MSCS Interim Superintendent Toni Williams just passed her second month on the board and has community members wondering if this will be a long-term position. 

Although the board has said Williams’ position is temporary, they have been known to keep on interim superintendents in the past like with Joris Ray and Dorsey Hopson. 

Vincent McCaskill, president and CEO of SchoolSeed, an organization working with private resources to benefit public education, said they have worked with Williams in the past and it’s been great but they're hoping there's a national search for superintendent.

“Althea Green, the chairwoman, made a really good decision,” McCaskill said. “She looked for someone who did not want the job and she said that clearly to the community that that’s who they were gonna put in that interim.”

That good decision works for some but comes with bumps in the road for others. Parents in the district are moving their kids to private schools, citing a lack of leadership as one of the reasons for their move.

“We pulled him out recently to attend a private school here in the city,” parent Tiffani Perry said. “We pulled him out for several reasons. As parents, education has always been a high priority. Memphis education system is in extreme need of a leader during this time.”

She said she’s open to bringing her student back into the district but it’ll take some work and a thorough search for a strong candidate.

“I am not a fan at this time of any internal candidates within the district – within the board office – just automatically moving into that seat,” Perry said. “I think either way it goes, we need to do a search to make sure we have the best person in that spot. I don’t think we need to just move somebody in and then were all just supposed to be okay with it.”

While the district is in the hot seat to find a fresh face for superintendent, McCaskill said it’s not an easy task and Williams has done a good job taking on the role.

“I’ve been knowing her for a while and I know that she is tenacious in her work, she has a great work ethic and she just wants to do the very best she can and is willing to take on any challenge and as you can see, this is a huge challenge,” McCaskill said.

As Williams passes her first 60 days as interim superintendent, community members and parents are just hoping the board sticks to their word and complete a nationwide search for that permanent superintendent.

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