On Tuesday, October 13, 2026, Billy Orgel filed a sworn statement in court. He said the board he leads is "ready, willing, and able." Orgel is chair of the state oversight board for Memphis-Shelby County Schools, or MSCS. MSCS is Tennessee's largest school district. His filing could lift a three-month hold on the state's takeover. But a board member and local reporting raise questions about how the board got ready.
Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw blocked the oversight board from taking control in late June 2026. That was an early win for the district in its case against the state. At a hearing early this month, Crenshaw said he never meant the pause to last long. He said the takeover could begin once board members said they were ready.
Orgel pointed to a meeting on October 8 as proof. At that online meeting, the nine board members quickly approved key rules and steps. Most of these were written by MGT, a consulting firm based in Tampa, during the court-ordered pause. The board set up a way to approve any MSCS contract over $50,000. It also accepted MGT's early research.
Dedrick Brittenum pushed back. He is a former Memphis city councilman and a board member. He asked whether it was legal and fair to approve rules that MGT wrote out of public view. He said the board should use a formal bidding process before it agrees to a proposed $1 million deal with the firm. Orgel said local donors paid for MGT's work. These donors include Seeding Success, a longtime takeover supporter. Orgel said this made the deal legal. The Daily Memphian reports that it is unclear whether the board's new plans will cover all the costs it must review under state law.
The district is fighting the takeover in court. On Monday, MSCS leaders filed an amended complaint. They did this after Crenshaw said their first complaint did not show harm to students. The new complaint says MSCS children have a constitutional right "not to be singled out by the State, because of their race." It says only Memphis schools face what it calls a "uniquely burdensome legal regime." Around 94% of students there are racial minorities. The complaint says this denies the mostly Black student body a district run by locally elected leaders. It also says the takeover forces the district to move money away from students to pay the oversight board's salaries. "Every dollar diverted to a duplicative, state appointed governance layer is a dollar that is not spent on the Student Plaintiffs' teachers, classrooms, instructional materials, transportation, and support services," the complaint says. The document adds that Tennessee Republicans have branded the district and the broader community as "failing and unfit for self-governance."
It is not clear how fast Crenshaw will act to lift the block now that both documents are filed. No future hearing date has been set.