A Nashville judge delivered an update in the lawsuit that's temporarily blocking the state takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools from proceeding.
Also, the MSCS board elected its new chair and vice chair, and former superintendent Marie Feagins' attorney is seeking to withdraw from Feagins' federal lawsuit.
Here's the latest in education news in Memphis.
What's going on in the state takeover lawsuit?
In a court order filed Oct. 5, U.S. Judge Waverly Crenshaw directed the state-appointed oversight board to indicate when it would be "ready, willing, and able to perform its duties."
That came a few days after an Oct. 2 preliminary hearing in Nashville, during which Crenshaw said he would dissolve his July 1 order pausing the board's operations once the board was ready to get to work.
It wasn't
immediately clear when that would be — attorneys representing the oversight board couldn't be reached as of Oct. 6. But the order clears the way for the state takeover to begin while a lawsuit over its constitutionality plays out in court.
The new order also removed Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds as defendants in the case.
New MSCS leadership named at board meeting
The Memphis-Shelby County Schools board elected a new chair and vice chair during a Sept. 29 business meeting.
The board elected Tamarques Porter, who represents District 4, as board chair, and Sable Otey, who represents District 5, as vice chair.
Porter is a native Memphian and a graduate of Melrose High School. He holds a bachelor's degree in information technology and a master of science in technology management from the University of Phoenix. Porter currently works as an IT specialist with the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Otey, also a Memphis native, is an alumna of East High School. She has a bachelor's in exercise science and a master's in education from National University. She's a former Team USA Bobsledder and currently serves as senior vice president for insurance marketing company PHP Agency.
Marie Feagins' attorney withdraws from lawsuit
Former Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins' attorney filed a motion asking to withdraw as counsel from the federal lawsuit filed against the school board.
Brittany Hinton, who began representing Feagins in September, filed a motion to withdraw herself from the suit, an Oct. 6 court filing shows.
This is the second time in this case Feagins has had to replace her counsel. Feagins' previous attorney, Johnathan F. Austin and Austin Law, P.C., withdrew from her case Sept. 4 after Feagins wrote to the firm to terminate their representation.
The order asks the court to grant Feagins a 30-day extension of upcoming deadlines so she can secure new counsel.
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: MSCS board chooses new leadership; state takeover could move forward
