Memphis school district audit identifies $1.1M in ‘waste and abuse’
by: David Royer, Deja Davis, Jessica Gertler, Raven Copeland, Alex Coleman
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An interim report from the state’s audit of the Memphis-Shelby County school system was unveiled by state leaders in Nashville on Wednesday.
State Comptroller Jason Mumpower delivered a blistering opening to his presentation.
“Large portions of the forensic audit is not even done yet, but in my opinion, as comptroller. This is the worst management of any organization I have seen in my career. I would say it is unprecedented for an organization of this scope and size,” Mumpower said.
The audit identified $1.1 million in waste and abuse. Another $1.7 million was classified as “policy violations” that did not rise to waste or abuse.
In one example, a former employee received pay for four months after separating from the district, the audit found. In another example, the district was invoiced for 32 days of work by a mentor program in December, which only has 31 days and only 13 in-school days.
“There are widespread operational failures within the Memphis Shelby County school system,” Mumpower said, citing an “absolute culture of apathy and carelessness,” as well as “obvious fiscal mismanagement” and “disregard for policies and procedures within the district.”
Rep. Mark White said he and Sen. Brent Taylor, both Republicans representing Memphis and Shelby County at the state level, would now pursue legislation to install a state-run management board to run the local school district.
The Republican-led plan being discussed would resemble a model used in Houston, Texas, where a state-appointed board would oversee the current school board.
Taylor said he disagreed with the term “state takeover,” because the planned management board appointed by state leaders would be filled by board members from the Memphis area.
“This is the state authorizing a local intervention that’ll be made up of a board of managers who will be Memphians. That will be appointed by Speaker Sexton and Lieutenant Governor McNally and Governor Lee,” said Taylor.
“The audit shows the Memphis Shelby County school system is about as organized as a $5 bin at Walmart,” Taylor said.
Republicans in state government said they were trying to bring order to the school district and “right the ship.”
“This has been going on for decades,” House Speaker Cameron Sexton said. “We’re not blaming one individual, but it’s a systematic failure.”
Sexton said there was a possibility that criminal charges could be brought if findings in the audit rose to that level.
The audit was called for and funded by the Tennessee General Assembly, and a contractor began the work in August of 2025. This is an interim report, and a final report will be available later this year.
The comptroller’s office says the audit report, which covers fiscal years 2022 – 2024, consists of three parts: an internal controls review, an IT and cybersecurity review, and the forensic audit, which is 25% complete.
The audit results could determine what’s next for the Memphis Shelby County School District amid growing calls for a state takeover.
Following the Republicans’ press conference, state Democrats responded and asked for collaboration on solving district problems.
“We really want to make change for the students, for the internal problems, maybe you can call it sloppy bookkeeping,” Rep. Karen Camper said. “If we want to change that, let’s do it in a collaborative sense.”
Sen. Raumesh Akbari said the potential waste and fraud identified in the still-unfinished forensic audit amounted to less than 1% of the district budget.
Akbari and Camper acknowledged problems in the district, but asked why MSCS had received clean audits from the state comptroller’s office for the previous three years.
“We’re looking for solutions for our system. We want our kids to do well, just like anybody else. We want the corrections to be made,” Camper said. “But to have three clean audits, and then all of a sudden it’s the worst in 45 years, I’m not believing that.”
“Let’s not rush to judgment on a 25% audit and pass some legislation that yet again, no other, not one other school system or LEA in this state has been through what we’ve been through,” Camper said.
MSCS is Tennessee’s largest school district, with about 106,000 students in more than 200 schools, with an annual budget of approximately $1.8 billion. One in 10 Tennessee students is educated in the district, state leaders said.
Tuesday night, the MSCS board voted to make Roderick Richmond the district’s superintendent, removing his “interim” title. If a new board voted to dismiss Richmond, he could be owed pay for the rest of his contract.
Richmond released a statement on the audit Wednesday, saying the district is reviewing the findings and will report on their progress and remaining work to be done.
“We are grateful for the preliminary audit and recognize the importance of fiscal and operational responsibility in maintaining public trust. Our team is combing through the report and digesting the findings. If any wrongdoing is identified, we will join the state in holding the responsible individual or individuals accountable so that the law-abiding employees within this organization can continue the important work of educating our community’s children.
We also recognize that when systems or processes fail, whether past or present, trust is damaged. It is now our responsibility to repair that trust. On Monday, April 6, we will release a summary report detailing our progress and remaining gaps for each area outlined.
It is my hope that we can then move forward together with continued hard work, as well as a legal agreement that resolves these issues without the need for legislation. I have requested a meeting with Tennessee Senator Brent Taylor and Representative Mark White to discuss an option to bring our community back together with desired transparency, greater accountability, and ongoing support of children.”
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