There are 275 staff vacancies in Memphis-Shelby County Schools, Superintendent Dr. Roderick Richmond said during an Aug. 25 school board meeting.
There are 112 vacancies posted in MSCS elementary schools, 81 in middle and K-8 schools and 82 in high schools, according to a presentation Richmond gave to the board. Of the 275 vacant positions, 45 have recommendations in process.
On Aug. 28, which will be the 20th day of school, the district may assess and adjust staff to fill vacancies — there may be some opportunities for teachers to move into vacant positions, according to Richmond's presentation.
"Longer term, we must explore why the turnover is as it is and actions can be taken to reduce," his presentation read.
In a survey sent out to MSCS teachers
and school leaders, around 35% of school leaders responded "yes" to a question that asked if all teaching positions were filled and in place by the first day of school. Nearly 70% of school leaders responded "yes" to a similar question about support staff positions.
Some of the district's vacancies could help the MSCS budget, Richmond said.
"Some of these central office vacancies...can help us start to balance the budget," he said. "People don't understand our budget is not as stable as people think."
Richmond said the district used 300 vacant positions in the budget this year, and that meant "300 less people that we had to cut."
In the same presentation, Richmond shared data on K-12 enrollment in the 2026-27 school year.
Enrollment was down 2,245 students compared to last school year. However, overall enrollment was more than 1,000 more students than the district projected would enroll.
MSCS TCAP scores slightly improved this year
Preliminary TCAP results show proficiency increased across all four major tested content areas, according to information released by MSCS.
The state released science school-level results on Aug. 25, after releasing English Language Arts, Math and Social Studies results earlier this summer.
The new results show MSCS schools increased scores by 1.1% in ELA and math, 2.6% in social studies and 1.9% in science. Overall science scores also showed growth across each tested grade band.
“Our students and educators entered the year with new standards, new materials, and higher expectations, and they continued to move forward," Richmond said in a statement. "We are proud of that progress, but we also understand that our responsibility is to build on it. Stability gives us the opportunity to stay focused, strengthen what is working, and continue improving outcomes for every student.”
Manassas High School improved the most in science — the school scored a 33.7% proficiency rate, up 22% from last year's score of 11.7%.
MSCS also released a list of schools that improved in all tested areas. The top three schools were Booker T. Washington High School, Belle Forest Community School and Berclair Elementary, in that order.
Jack Armstrong covers breaking news and the environment for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at jack.armstrong@commercialappeal.com and followed on X @jca2902.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Here's how many vacancies Memphis-Shelby County Schools has this year
