MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dorsey Hopson revealed his plan for closing schools to the Board of Education Tuesday night.
The plan quickly received harsh criticism from board member Stephanie Love.
“I’m sick of this, sick of our children getting shipped from school to school like puppies,” Love said.
Hopson’s latest plan closes Lincoln Elementary and Southside Middle, moving those student to AB Hill and Riverview.
Airways Middle and Brookemeade Elementary are also being rezoned.
Some of those students would move to Sherwood and Lucie Campbell.
Teachers are urging parents to speak out. They’re also questioning performance data heralding the iZone schools.
The board was critical of the data too, wanting more information on why reading scores were so low.
Teachers say kids are being moved around too much, oftentimes to bad areas.
“It would be better to be in a stable neighborhood with homeowners. Have you seen Riverview?” Toni Jackson of Southside Middle asked.
Hopson said it’s difficult but necessary.
“There won’t be talk of those kids moving anytime soon. But remember for every Lincoln and AB Hill, you have other school in similar situations,” he said.
Mainly students in Woodstock, who are waiting to see if they’ll get shipped to Trezevant, Millington High, or Bolton High, depending on if Shelby County and Millington Schools can come up with an agreement.
