Judge set to hear oral arguments for MSCS takeover lawsuit
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – A judge is set to hear oral arguments on several motions in the Memphis-Shelby County Schools takeover lawsuit Friday morning, October 2.
Among the motions is a temporary restraining order filed by the Shelby County Government to halt the state’s takeover of the district.
The state filed a motion to dissolve the TRO. The TRO was set back on July 1, which was supposed to mark the beginning of the state takeover.
This hearing comes after Memphis-Shelby County School Board and the Shelby County government filed a suit in federal court over the MSCS oversight board.
The county, the school commission and the school board filed a lawsuit in Nashville, arguing the law that created the board is unconstitutional.
The 80-page lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Nashville on Thursday, the same day appointees to the Educational Oversight Board met for the first time. The board is tasked with leading state intervention over Memphis-Shelby County Schools.
Named as defendants are Gov. Bill Lee, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds. The suit claims the takeover criteria were engineered specifically to target MSCS and points to the General Assembly’s own budget documents, which call the funding for the board “Memphis School Takeover.”
“You cannot have special legislation that only targets one county,” said Allan Wade, attorney for the MSCS school board. “I think the statute goes through, regulates to try to make this applicable in Shelby County, but in doing so, we believe it only applies to us.”
MSCS Board Chair Natalie McKinney and the eight other board members were named individually as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, along with the Shelby County government and Board of Commissioners. The suit argues voting power is being taken away as board members are stripped of power.
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