Memphis parents of elementary school students expressed their concerns about a proposed K-8 merger next year due to safety concerns.
Interim Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Roderick Richmond recommended in September the transfer of the Lucy Elementary building. It would be moved to the neighboring Millington Municipal School District at the end of this school year.
Memphis Parents Concerned Over School Merger
The decision was made in order to comply with a 2023 state law and address chronic underenrollment at the school. Additionally, Richmond recommended closing four MSCS schools, a proposal that board members are expected to vote on in February.
However, children currently attending Lucy would most likely not be able to transfer to Millington, as they are zoned for MSCS. Furthermore, district leaders said that merging students with Woodstock Middle School would fill empty classroom seats and offer new amenities, such as a renovated gym.
Currently, roughly 30 percent of the seats at Lucy Elementary and Woodstock Middle School are in use. Merging the two schools would boost that number to more than 70 percent, according to Chalkbeat.
During a Wednesday hearing, MSCS Regional Superintendent Debra Fox-Stanford said they currently have 12 K-8-grade structures. She said that they understand what they need to do to ensure that they get it right for the students.
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However, some parents are not supportive of the proposal, including Jeffery Porter, who has a daughter in second grade. The father said that last year, an older student gave her a THC-infused gummy candy while on the bus ride home.
Other parents said they feel rushed by the proposal's timeline, particularly with open enrollment starting on Jan. 27. Lindsay Patterson said the decision was more about money than the kids, Fox13 Memphis reported.
Following a 2023 State Law
Several other families also expressed concerns about students' safety, especially with younger kids who share buses and hallways with middle school students. Others left the meeting without clear answers regarding extracurricular programs at Lucy and whether they would move with the students.
Local authorities initially floated the idea of school closures in October, with former Superintendent Marie Feagins mentioning the possible consolidation of school buildings within her first week on the job.
The law that Richmond referenced in the closure of Lucy required school systems to come to an agreement for the transfer of affected school buildings before January 2023. Both MSCS and Millington signed agreements for the transfer of the school in December 2022, as per Commercial Appeal.
