001Mhm. >> Board member Present. Present. Vice Chair Coleman Present. Board Chair McKenney Present. We have a quorum. Thank you. All right, could everyone please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance? Could you please remain for a stand for a moment of silence? I would like for us to keep in our prayers and our thoughts GA Hardaway. He passed earlier this week, and please keep his family in your prayers. Thank you. Next on the agenda, we would have had spotlights on the arts, but we will not be having that tonight due to the weather. So, we are going to make this an abbreviated meeting to get the business of the board done. So, um and to keep everyone safe and get you home in enough time. [music] All right, but I do have one thing a couple
002of things that I do want to do really quickly. It won't take a lot of time. The first thing is recognizing Major Harold Muhammad. We have a proclamation from him. I'm asking Vice Chair Coleman to please read that. And Major Muhammad, could you please come to the front? Yeah. The Shelby County Board of Education Proclamation Major Harold Muhammad. Whereas Major Harold Muhammad has completed dedicated service to Memphis Shelby County Schools from December 2009 to May 2026. And whereas Muhammad is a veteran of the United States Navy whose journey is defined by service to others. And whereas Muhammad's path into school began at Hamilton High School where he was exposed to the real work of being a school officer, encouraging students through all their challenges and potential. And whereas Muhammad has served with excellence at several
003Memphis Shelby County Schools, Cordova Middle, Hickory Ridge Middle, Wooddale High, Wooddale Middle, and Kirby High. And whereas Major Muhammad has served as a cornerstone of district operations, providing security for countless events including Shelby County School Board meetings before and after the district merger. And whereas Muhammad has a track record of building trust, inspiring hope, and creating safe spaces where students and staff could thrive. And whereas Muhammad rose through the ranks to the rank of major and has led with compassion, innovation, and an unwavering belief in the power of mentorship to officers through professional growth. And now therefore be proclaimed that we honor and celebrate Major Harold Muhammad, his steady presence, commitment to safety, and passion for professionalism have made him not only a protector but also a builder of community trust and resilience. Major Harold
004Muhammad, in witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and cause the seal of the Shelby County Board of Education to be affixed this 28th of April in the year 2026. Natalie J. McKenney, District 2 Board Chair, Dr. Roderick Richmond, Superintendent. >> [clears throat] >> All right, we have one more very special recognition. Ms. Timberlake. >> [music] >> You don't want me to sing. So. Okay. Somebody needs to sing. Okay, you Wait a minute. Happy birthday start I think we have a singer up here. Happy birthday to you. Happy Thank you. I'm still 36. Regardless of my birth certificate and my driver's license, I'm still 36. All right, we're moving on to uh section six, approval of the agenda. Are there any amendments? Yes, Madam Chair, we'd like to remove uh agenda item 13.11, [music]
005after school reporting center, the pursuit center renewal, and we'd like to add to the agenda First Aid Community Partners contract, [music] Hope House and KIPP Diamond. If there's no objection, can we add this to the agenda upon general consent? No objection. All right, we will add this to the agenda. May I please have a motion to approve the amended agenda? I move that we approve the agenda. Second. It has been moved that we approve the amended agenda and and by board member McKissick and seconded by board member Love. Mr. Jenkins, please take roll call. Board member McKissick. I. Board member Love. I. Board member McKissick. >> [music] >> I. The five in the affirmative. We have the agendas approved. Thank you. Moving on. We are now at the public comment section. In accordance with state
006statute, the board shall reserve a period for public comment during business and special call meetings. Only those members of the public who submit public comment cards to the board chair prior to the commencement of this meeting shall be permitted to address the [music] board. Public comments will proceed in the order in which the public comment cards are received. A sign-up sheet for public comment is available 30 minutes prior to each applicable meeting and will be closed at the start of the meeting. This sign-up is located at the entryway table just past the security checkpoint. Speakers must state their name, city they reside in, and the subject matter of their comment before they are permitted to proceed. Speakers may offer objective comments about about [music] school operations and programs that concern them. Speakers are asked to
007address board and not individual board members given we make decisions as a body and to refrain [music] from using names of personnel or names of persons connected with the school system, particularly when lodging [music] a complaint. Speakers will not be permitted to engage in gossip, make defamatory comments, [music] or use abusive or vulgar language. The chair shall have the authority to terminate the remarks of any individual who is disruptive [music] or does not adhere to the board rules regarding public comment. We have three speakers. Your time of 1 minute is on the screen to your right and directly behind the board. When you hear the bell, your time has expired. The first speaker is Britney Jones. Second is Terry Gas- Gaston, and then the third is Dineisha Fields. Good evening. My name is Britney Jones,
008Memphis, Tennessee, and I'm here to speak on behalf of Opportunity Youth Academy. Um I stand before you not only as a mother, but as a founding board member of who deeply believes in the purpose of the Opportunity Youth Network. Um this vote is about more than a building or a program. It's about the youth and our future. It's about the 16- to 21-year-olds who for many different reasons have fallen outside of traditional systems. Some were pushed out, some had to grow up too fast, and some just didn't fit the traditional school setting. Not because they lack intelligence or potential, but because they have lacked the support needed at that time, but none of them are beyond reach. Opportunity Youth Academy represents a second chance and an opportunity to re-engage, to be seen, and to succeed
009in an environment that meets them where they are. Another chance to earn their education, build a life skills, and see a future. When we invest in the youth, we are not just changing their future, we are strengthening our community as a whole. As a mother, I know every child deserves someone to believe in them, and as a board member, I am committed to assisting [music] with building a place that does exactly that. Thank you. Thank you. Terry Gaston. Good evening. My name is Terry Gaston, and [music] I serve as the founding school leader of the proposed Urban Dove Team Charter School Memphis. I'm here tonight to express gratitude for this [music] process and for the opportunity to share the vision behind Urban Dove. At its heart, Urban Dove exists to help young people who may
010not always see themselves reflected in traditional [music] success stories. Students who are incredibly capable, talented, resilient, and full of potential, but who often need a school that provides the right environment, relationships, and mentorship to fully thrive. Those of us who work with young people every day know the success, leadership, and brilliance that can emerge [music] when students feel seen, supported, and genuinely connected to the adults around them. Urban Dove Team Memphis will be such a school. As someone who has spent more than 20 years serving students in Memphis, this work is deeply personal to me, and so is it it is for everyone at Urban Dove. I want to sincerely thank the charter office, district staff, and board members for their thoughtful engagement. It is clear that everyone involved cares deeply about the future of
011our young people. Thank you. Thank you. Dineisha Fields, please. Good evening. Dineisha Fields, Memphis, Tennessee, and I'm here advocating for the approval of charter applications for Urban Dove and Opportunity Youth Academy. >> [music] >> I know what you're thinking. Yay, more charter schools. But these are not the standard college prep models. They but specialize but they specialize They're proven interventions designed for student dis- that have been disconnected from the traditional [music] systems who are two or more grade levels behind. Urban Dove specializes sports-based [music] team model to re-engage students while opportunity youth academy provides flexible and wrap-around supports needed for students balancing the adult responsibilities with career tracks [music] in construction and or allied health. Our current system is not designed to catch students who who have fallen through these cracks. By approving these charters
012we're approving essential lifelines and ensuring these vulnerable students have a place to succeed. I urge the board [music] to be intentional and approve both applications to support these students. Thank you. Thank you. That concludes our public comments. We are moving to approval of the minutes of previous meeting. 8.1 approval of the minutes of the March 31st, 2026 business meeting. The minutes for the March [music] 23rd, I'm sorry, March 31st, 2026 board business meeting has been distributed and placed on the Memphis Shelby County School Board's docs for public viewing. Are there any corrections to these minutes? There being no corrections, may we approve the minutes as distributed by general consent? I have general consent. Okay. Thank you. The minutes from March 31st, 2026 have been approved by general consent. Next item 8.2 approval of the minutes
013of the March 31st special called meeting have been distributed and placed on the Memphis Shelby County School Board docs for public viewing. Are there any corrections [music] to the March 31st special called meeting minutes? Hearing no corrections, may we approve the minutes as distributed by general consent? All right. We have approved the minutes by general consent and therefore they are approved at this time for the March 31st, [music] 2026 special called meeting. Next item is 8.3 approval of the minutes of the April 21st, [music] 2026 work session meeting. They have been distributed and placed on the Memphis Shelby County School Board's docs for public viewing. Are there any corrections to the April 21st, 2026 [music] work session meeting minutes? And seeing hearing no corrections, can we approve the these as they have been distributed by
014general consent? Very good. They have been approved by general consent and therefore approved for minutes for the April 21st, 2026 [music] work session meeting are approved. Next item is 8.4 approval of the minutes of the April 21st, 2026 special called meeting. They have been distributed and provided on board docs for public viewing. Are there any corrections to April 21st, 2026 special called meeting minutes? Hearing no corrections, may we approve these by general consent? All right. Hearing that these are approved by general consent, the minutes for April 21st, 2026 special called meeting are approved. 8.5 approval of the minutes of the April 22nd, 2026 special called meeting which are on the board docs for public viewing and have been distributed for review. Are there any corrections to the April 22nd, 2026 [music] special called meeting minutes?
015Hearing no corrections, may [music] we approve the minutes as distributed by general consent? Being that we have approved these by general consent, they are approved April 22nd, 2026 special called meeting minutes are hereby approved by general consent. Moving on to reports. There are no reports for the chair report. Superintendent, do you have a report? No report for superintendent. Do we have any committee reports? I would just like to say, does anyone have any reports for No, okay. >> Which which committee? Academic committee. >> Okay. No reports for academic committee, but I do want to say we just wrapped up the TCAP and I want to thank the teachers, [music] staff, principals for all their hard work. Sure the students did an amazing job. Uh thank you. Thank you. There is no unfinished business. We are
016moving to new board business. These are the proposed, this is 12.1 proposed policies first reading. Board members, this is the first reading. Does anyone have any questions for policy on any of these? Seeing that if you do have some questions, you do have until next board meeting to provide any questions that you may have around these particular policies >> [music] >> um before the next board meeting which we'll have at the second for second reading and approval. Moving on to the consent agenda. Are there any items to be removed from the consent agenda? We only had 13.11 was removed. Very well, since we have [music] no We've done that already. Do I have a motion and a second to approve the consent agenda? I move that we approve the consent agenda. It has been moved
017by board member McKissic and seconded by vice chair Coleman that we approve this consent agenda. Mr. Jenkins, please take roll call vote. Board member McKissic. I. Board member Otey. I. Excuse me, board member Love. I. Board vice chair Coleman. Board chair McKinney. Yes. Yeah, five in the affirmative. It has been unanimously um approved that we adopt the consent agenda. Next item is 14.1 request for action first eight Memphis community partners contract in the amount of $200,000, $100,000 per classroom. Recommended action. Dr. Richmond. Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. If you would, Ms. Timberlake, would you uh put it up for me? Board members, we bought this [music] item, I want to say about uh during the month of um February, I think. Uh and we pulled it because initially we were bringing it as part of
018the overall First Aid contract. >> [music] >> As you all know, we didn't approve the First Aid contract in uh December, uh nor did we approve it the first of the year. We thought we'd have it worked through by now, but again, these two contracts are part of our uh community partners contracts. So, it is recommended the Shelby County Board of Education approve the contract with First Aid Memphis >> [music] >> in the amount of $200,000, $100,000 per classroom to continue managing full implementation of educational services [music] for 4-year-old children and their families in total of two community programs. The community partners are Hope House and Cadazzle [music] serving 40 students. The recommendation is aligned with the mandate by the Tennessee DOE to ensure high-quality pre-K [music] programming across the state. And so, we'd like
019to bring these two community partners. We don't want to hold up their contracts. We know they may need these dollars. [music] So, until we finish uh the larger First Aid contract, we'd like for the board to approve this today so that we can get our [music] community partners paid so that they can finish out the year. Thank you, Dr. Richmond. Do I have a motion to approve the First Aid community partners contract? I move to approve the First Aid Memphis community partners contract. [music] >> have a second? Second. It has been moved by board member Otey and seconded by board member Love that we approve the First Aid community partners contract. Do we have any discussion? Seeing no Seeing no discussion, Mr. Jenkins, please take roll call vote. Board member McKissic. I. Board member Love.
020I. Board member Otey. I. Board vice chair Coleman. Board chair McKinney. I. You have five in the affirmative. 14.1 First Aid community partners contract [music] has been approved. Seeing that we have no further business, I now it is 5:54 and I am adjourning the meeting. Thank you.