Shelby County Sheriff's Office fights to prevent job cuts

Lina Portman2 weeks ago

0 2 minutes read

The Shelby County Board of Commissioners held its regular committee meetings Wednesday, which consisted primarily of budget discussions.

The 12-hour meeting was tense at times between administration officials and the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, as leaders argued over reallocation of funding for 441 SCSO employee positions.

There was no final vote on the proposed budget Wednesday, and it likely won't happen Monday at the commission's full meeting. Throughout last week's meeting, commissioners said there should be a special meeting called to specifically discuss the budget before the board adopts anything.

According to some Shelby County Board of Commissioners staff, a special meeting could take place early this week.

Pause in MSCS superintendent's plan to cut 1,000 jobs

Early last week, Memphis-Shelby County Schools announced plans to cut 1,100 positions, with just over 400 vacant. Affected employees are being offered other jobs within the district, but those jobs could have different titles and salaries.

The announcement was made via a school district-wide email from MSCS Superintendent Marie Feagins.

MSCS, she said, was facing serious challenges. In the 2022-23 academic year, 78% of the district's students were not performing well on the English Language Arts section of the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program tests. Another 83% did not perform well in the math section. The dropout rate was almost 15%, the absenteeism rate was 41% and there were a total of 1,069 vacancies – 552 teaching positions and 517 support positions.

The Memphis Shelby County School Board expressed frustration with the budget cuts, saying it was not properly informed.

They didn't know the email was sent last Monday; and at a special meeting Tuesday evening, MSCS board members passed a resolution asking Feagins to hold off on any additional staff reductions until she shares a detailed staffing plan with the board. administration and that the Board of Directors approve the proposed budget for fiscal year 2025.

Memphis 7 loses at the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Starbucks on Thursday in a high-profile labor dispute, issuing a ruling that could set back President Joe Biden's efforts to strengthen unions.

The dispute stems from the firing of seven Starbucks workers in 2022, including almost the entire union organizing committee, according to a previous report from The Commercial Appeal. The union claimed they were fired due to retaliation for their attempt to unionize. Starbucks claimed it violated several workplace rules.

The East Memphis Starbucks location was the first to unionize in Memphis.

The move is a disappointment for the labor movement at a time when it is winning important labor battles and benefiting from the aggressiveness of the Biden administration's National Labor Relations Board.

The move could make it more difficult to force companies to reinstate workers fired for unionizing. The court ruled that judges must consider more factors before ordering employers to reinstate fired workers..

Catch up on the week

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Do you have a question for the Metropolitan reporting team that you would like us to address? Send an email to [email protected].

Week Ahead

The Shelby County Board of Commissioners will meet Monday at 3 p.m. Watch the live stream via the website or attend in person at the Vasco A. Smith, Jr. County Administration Building, located at 160 N. Main St. in Memphis.

USA Today contributed to this report.

Pause in MSCS superintendent's plan to cut 1,000 jobs

Memphis 7 loses at the Supreme Court

Catch up on the week

Do you have a question for us?

Week Ahead

Lina Portman

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