A federal judge signaled he would allow a state-appointed board to begin its takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools once the board is ready to get to work.
In a court order filed Oct. 5, U.S. Judge Waverly Crenshaw directed the oversight board to file a statement under oath by the chairman of the oversight board when the body is "ready, willing, and able to perform its duties."
The order came days after an Oct. 2 preliminary hearing at Fred Thompson Federal Courthouse in Nashville, which lasted just over half an hour. During that hearing, Crenshaw indicated he would dissolve his order preventing the oversight board from intervening while the lawsuit over the takeover's legality plays out in court.
"Whenever the board is up and ready to do business,
I'm going to dissolve my July 1 order," he said.
The new 9-member oversight board was set to take control of MSCS July 1. But that takeover was paused after MSCS leaders filed a lawsuit claiming the board invalidated voters' choice of local elected officials.
On June 30, plaintiffs filed a motion asking the court to allow the local school board to continue to operate while the lawsuit plays out in court. Plaintiffs also asked the court to prevent the defendants, which include Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and members of the oversight board, from interfering with or terminating any MSCS leadership without cause while the case is ongoing.
Now, it seems the oversight board will soon be able to assume those responsibilities.
The plaintiffs, Shelby County Government, MSCS, the school board, Shelby County Board of Commissioners and the nine individual members of the elected school board, can file a response before Oct. 12.
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: Federal judge ready to let Memphis-Shelby Co. Schools takeover proceed
