With the new school year looming, Memphis Shelby County Schools (MSCS) Superintendent Dr. Marie Feagins has provided an update on the teacher vacancies that the district is scrambling to fill. According to Dr. Feagins, 258 teaching positions remain unclaimed, as reported by Action News 5. Among these, the most prominent are for Special Needs, ESL, math, art teachers, and librarians.
Despite the vacancy challenge, Dr. Feagins has asserted confidently that "every student has access to a certified teacher for sure on Monday we will have someone in every classroom as we continue to our efforts to attract the best to Memphis Shelby County Schools," she informed Action News 5. This statement comes in stark contrast to earlier reports, which had nearly doubled the number of vacancies. Last week, WREG noted there were close to 500 teacher vacancies, indicating a significant hiring effort is underway to quickly close the gap.
Board Chair Althea Greene emphasized during the final meeting before the start of classes that they are quickly trying to lower the vacancy numbers and are exploring various avenues. "We are recruiting some of our retired teachers, asking for them to come back. We are recruiting veterans, we are recruiting people from Birmingham and people from Mississippi," Greene detailed in a statement obtained by FOX13 Memphis. Additionally, long-term substitutes and recommendations from the state are in consideration to ensure each classroom is equipped with a teacher come Monday.
A further issue that has surfaced amidst the preparations is overtime abuse, which has reportedly cost the district around a million dollars for hours not worked. Dr. Feagins has relayed the information, prompting School Board Commissioner Keith Williams to demand transparency: "We want to know who got it, why did they get it, and how much they got," Williams told WREG. A new policy requiring advance approval for overtime by the superintendent or an appointee was up for discussion but has been tabled to be reworked, as per information shared by FOX13 Memphis.
Despite these challenges, MSCS assures that the school facilities will be ready, with Superintendent Dr. Feagins mentioning a near-complete cleaning process, except for Raleigh-Egypt High School, which is expected to catch up shortly. The school district appears to be exerting every effort to ensure that the return to classrooms is smooth and that necessary oversight and policies are placed to manage the district's resources effectively.
