MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Nine months after the last superintendent quit in scandal, the Memphis Shelby County School board has delayed their search for a replacement but has also announcing a series of meetings aimed at "revising" and "expanding" the search.
Board members held a retreat on Friday focused on "getting their priorities straight" on making this important decision.
There they discussed the official policy for selecting a new superintendent, last revised in 2012. Part of that policy states: "Superintendent candidates must have at least 10 years of experience in teaching or school administration."
Other qualifications include that candidates must:
"Possess or be eligible for a license of qualification in the state of Tennessee" and "have an advanced degree in education or a 'board-approved equivalent'"
Nine months later and $40,000 dollars paid to a national search firm, not all the current applicants meet those requirements.
As board members questioned what "alternative equivalents" may be applicable for candidates that don't meet the requirements, critics wonder why board members waited until now to have this conversation.
Danette Stokes is an MSCS 2nd grade teacher and President of the Tennessee United Education Association. She said she feels that the process for finding a new superintendent has been "lingering for months."
"Our students and educators deserve to have a superintendent in place in August," Stokes said. "The policy is what it is. You can't change the policy at the end of the game."
She said she hopes the policy is read and comprehended clearly so that educators can "move on."
Board members and colleagues of the search Joyce Coleman and Stephanie Love say the current pause is not an "outright suspension" of the search but a move designed to give them more time to get priorities straight.
Some on the board said that a superintendent should be picked before next school year, but former MSCS board member Rev. Kenneth Whalum said in order for the best candidate to be chosen, members should take their time, ensuring the process is honest.
"I could not be more serious when I say the best thing for them is to not be in a rush," Whalum said. "If it takes two more years to find the real bonafide candidate, then take two more years."
The original self-imposed MSCS deadline to pick a new permanent superintendent was set for the end of May 2023.
"If they stick to the deadline by the end of this school year, everybody knows, everybody with eyes and ears knows that you haven't done due diligence," Whalum said.
There is not yet a specifically updated timeline on the search and when it will be fully resumed.