County commission punts vote on MSCS school board elections, passes term limits resolution
The delay came after hours of deliberating, with Commissioner Britney Thornton moving to bifurcate a resolution that would have synced up the two elected bodies' elections by 2030. The resolution also would set a term limit of two consecutive four-year terms on the school board.
Thornton's bifurcation motion passed without opposition, splitting the term limit resolution from the syncing of the election. A vote on term limits being set in 2026 for school board members also passed unanimously.
Under the resolution, school board members in Districts 1, 6, 8 and 9 will still have elections in 2026 and serve through 2030. School board members in Districts 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 will complete their full terms through 2028, but then would run for a two-year term, and then the seats would come up for reelection again in 2030.
The term limits are not retroactive and take effect starting with the 2026 elections.
In 2030, all board seats will be up for election and will be on the same election cycle as county officials moving forward. School board members will also be held to the same two-term election limit that county commissioners are held to.
The resolution was brought as part of an amendment by Commissioner Erika Sugarmon during the Aug. 6 committee meeting. During the Aug. 11 commission meeting, Commissioner Edmund Ford, Jr. proposed an amendment to Sugarmon's resolution that would establish term limits in 2026.
The term limit amendment passed unanimously.
Previous legislation, which was punted to Aug. 6, would have abridged the terms of some school board members elected in 2024 and forced term limits starting with the upcoming 2026 county-wide election. The previous resolution, sponsored by Commissioners Thornton, Michael Whaley, Amer Mills and Mick Wright, would have put all nine seats on the same election cycle as the Shelby County Commission starting next year.
Members of the school board spoke ahead of the commission's vote, arguing passing the resolution would open the county up to a lawsuit, would not change the cost of elections and would not impact voter turnout.
Most members of the public, who also spoke ahead of the vote, supported the original resolution. Some called for immediate consequences for the board members who voted to remove former Superintendent Marie Feagins.
Lowry offers substitute referendum ordinance to cement term limits, recall votes for school board
A potential substitute to the resolution voted on at the Aug. 11 meeting was brought by Commissioner Mickell Lowery. That substitute came in the form of a referendum ordinance that would allow Shelby County residents to vote for term limits and pave an avenue for recall votes.
Commissioners seemed opposed to that, with Ford saying they could "take care of the business now," with the original resolution. Despite the opposition to the referendum, commissioners kept the door open to passing it in the future to complement the resolution.
The referendum, if it were to pass the commission and pass at the ballot box, would enshrine term limits and a recall vote in the county's charter. A county attorney at the commission meeting said the referendum's passing would make it "much harder" to change in the future.
The referendum ordinance asked voters two questions:
"Shall the Shelby County Charter be amended at Article VI, Section 6.02(A) to apply term limit provisions to the county school board members as governed by the laws of the State of Tennessee?"
"Shall the Shelby County Charter be amended at Section 5.24(A) Recall of elected county officials to add language providing for language providing for recall of county school board members as governed by the laws of the State of Tennessee?"
Brooke Muckerman covers education and children's issues for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at brooke.muckerman@commercialappeal.com.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Future Memphis-Shelby County Schools board members to have term limits
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