Tennessee’s football team and interim head coach Brady Hoke will try to avoid a historically bad season Saturday.

If the Vols (4-7, 0-7 SEC) lose to Vanderbilt (4-7, 0-7), it would be the first team in program history to lose eight games and go winless in the conference. Kickoff is 3 p.m. CST at Neyland Stadium (TV: SEC Network).

2. A ‘Life-Changing’ Trip To Vietnam for Midstate Vols - Friday, July 28, 2017

Nashville’s Kyle Phillips never knew how good he had it as a University of Tennessee football player. Not until he went to Vietnam with The VOLeaders Academy for a 13-day study with numerous other student-athletes from UT. They left June 29 and returned two weeks later.

3. RedRover Adds Will Cook As Design Architect - Wednesday, June 14, 2017

RedRover Sales & Marketing has added three new employees in recent months, including design architect Will Cook, who has more than 10 years of graphic design experience and comes to RedRover from The Commercial Appeal and Savant Learning Systems. In his new role, Cook primarily designs print and web collateral for RedRover’s clients while also assisting the sales and marketing teams in other ways, including participating in sales meetings and calls.

4. Shelby County Schools Board Seeks Role in Grade-Tampering Investigations - Thursday, June 8, 2017

Shelby County Schools board members will meet in special session Thursday to talk about allegations of grade tampering renewed June 1 when Trezevant High School principal Ronnie Mackin resigned from the school system.

5. SCS Board Members Huddle With Attorneys On Grade Tampering Allegations - Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Shelby County Schools board members meet in special session Thursday to talk about allegations of grade tampering renewed June 1 when Trezevant High School principal Ronnie Mackin resigned from the school system.

6. Vols Need a Good Spring With So Many No. 1 Players Gone - Friday, March 17, 2017

Butch Jones is about to embark on his most crucial of five seasons as Tennessee’s football coach, and it begins with spring practices starting Tuesday, March 21.

Jones is coming off back-to-back 9-4 seasons capped by bowl wins, but has fallen short of the SEC East Division title both years. He was the preseason favorite to win the East in 2016, and the previous year had a team with potential to win the division.

7. SCS to Open 20 Summer Learning Academies, Raising Bar on Student Academic Achievement - Thursday, March 2, 2017

Shelby County Schools is preparing a set of 20 summer learning academies that will start at the end of the current school year and use certified teachers with a specific summer curriculum to battle “summer learning loss” in reading, math and science.

8. Hopson Plans 20 Summer Learning Academies for 5,000 Students - Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Shelby County Schools is preparing a set of 20 summer learning academies that will start at the end of the current school year and use certified teachers with a specific summer curriculum to battle “summer learning loss” in reading, math and science.

9. NAACP Panel Hears Differing Local Views On Charter Schools - Thursday, January 12, 2017

It took awhile for an NAACP panel holding hearings on charter schools and their impact on education to wade into the complexity of charters in Memphis.

The panel for the national civil rights organization heard Tuesday, Jan. 10, that charters have become an effort to privatize schools the way prisons were privatized in the 1990s. They also heard that charters don’t “cherry-pick” the best students but help equalize access to a better education. And the seven members of the panel heard that charters have a place, but that there should be more thought given to where they fit long term, and their financial impact on public school districts.

10. SCS May Still Pursue East High T-STEM After Missing Out on Grant - Friday, October 14, 2016

Although Shelby County Schools didn’t get a federal grant for a new optional school program at East High, the school system is still likely to continue with the ambitious plan.

The SCS grant application to the U.S Department of Education for the Magnet Schools Assistant Program calls for a T-STEM – transportation, science, technology, engineering and math – optional or magnet school at East to replace the engineering optional program that has been in place since 1984.

11. Hopson Begins Mapping Out Schools ‘Transformation’ - Thursday, September 29, 2016

Shelby County Schools superintendent Dorsey Hopson says his plan to right-size the school system to emerge in October will be about “transformation” including turning East High School into a “magnet school.”

12. East High Magnet School Planned as Part of Larger SCS "Transformation" - Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Shelby County Schools superintendent Dorsey Hopson says his plan to rightsize the school system to emerge in October will be about “transformation” including turning East High School into a “magnet school.”

13. The Rest of the August Ballot - Saturday, July 9, 2016

If all goes according to plan on the Aug. 4 election day, Linda Phillips hopes the result is that you don’t see her in any of the reporting on election night.

14. Libertas Roof Repairs Raise Questions for SCS - Thursday, June 30, 2016

As expected, the Shelby County Schools board approved two new charter schools for the 2017-2018 school year Tuesday, June 28, and turned down eight other charter applications for now.

What wasn’t expected during the board meeting was approving $165,000 in funding for an emergency roof repair at Libertas School of Memphis, a Montessori method-charter school in Frayser that is part of the state-run Achievement School District.

15. SCS Charter Schools Strategy Evolves - Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Shelby County Schools board members vote Tuesday, June 28, on two new charter schools for the 2017-2018 school year and may reject applications for eight other charters, including Crosstown High School, for now.

16. SCS Board Closes Northside High Immediately - Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Northside High School has graduated its last class.

Shelby County Schools board members voted Tuesday, June 21, to close the North Memphis school effective with the academic year that ended in May.

17. County Schools Funding Compromise to Be Tested - Friday, June 17, 2016

Fragile is probably the best way to describe the compromise that emerged this week from county commissioners to fully fund the Shelby County Schools budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The plan that closes a $27.4 million gap between what the school system wants and what Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell proposed in April had eight votes on the 13-member commission in Wednesday, June 15, committee sessions.

18. ‘Critical Mass’ - Saturday, June 4, 2016

Shelby County Schools superintendent Dorsey Hopson calls it “a brave new world” after four years of unprecedented changes: the merger and demerger of the county’s public schools systems, the rise of charter schools, the formation of both the state-run Achievement School District and locally run Innovation Zone model, and declining SCS enrollment.

19. Shelby County Schools Wraps Up a Calmer, But Still Eventful, Year - Friday, May 27, 2016

Given the last six years of historic change in public education locally, you could be forgiven if you thought of Friday’s half day of classes for Shelby County Schools as the end of an idyllic school year.

20. SCS Budget Plan Goes To School Board For Vote Monday - Monday, May 16, 2016

Shelby County Schools board members meet Monday, May 16, to vote on a budget proposal that goes to the Shelby County Commission for funding.

The budget proposal up for a vote Monday has $27 million in red ink – the gap between revenues and expenses.

21. Last Word: Mud Island Money, Elvis Mystery and Beyond Barbecue - Friday, May 13, 2016

It looks like the dry rub will be in order for Memphis in May's barbecue weekend with a shower or two keeping the dust down in Tom Lee Park Wednesday.

If you can see it through the smoke, Mud Island might strike a first-tme observer as a marked contrast to all of the activity in Tom Lee Park that goes right up to the bluff's edge.

22. Shelby County Schools Board Eyes Wheel Tax to Bridge Budget Gap - Friday, May 13, 2016

Shelby County Schools board members are looking at the county wheel tax to bridge some, but not all of the $27 million gap in their still tentative budget for the new fiscal year.

The specific solution they are looking at is the half of the $32 million in annual revenue from the wheel tax that Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell has proposed go instead to capital projects across all seven public school systems in Shelby County. The new fiscal year begins July 1.

23. Only One School Board Seat Contested - Saturday, April 16, 2016

It’s usually filing too close to the deadline that ends up shedding potential candidates from local election ballots.

That is the case with two would-be challengers to a pair of Shelby County Schools board incumbents on the Aug. 4 ballot.

24. Two More August School Board Races Go Uncontested - Thursday, April 14, 2016

It’s usually filing too close to the deadline that ends up shedding potential candidates from local election ballots.

That is the case with two would-be challengers to a pair of Shelby County Schools board incumbents on the Aug. 4 ballot.

25. August Primaries Feature Intra-Party Challenges - Monday, April 11, 2016

Two years after a disastrous slate of races for countywide offices, there is a move among younger Democratic partisans in Memphis to shake up the Democrats who represent the city in the Tennessee Legislature.

26. 8th Congressional District Primaries Draw 22 Contenders, 13 Republican - Friday, April 8, 2016

The Republican primary race to fill the 8th District Congressional seat Republican incumbent Stephen Fincher is giving up drew a field of 13 contenders – seven from Shelby County and four from Jackson, Tennessee – at the Thursday, April 7, noon filing deadline for the Aug. 4 ballot.

27. Events - Thursday, April 7, 2016

Metal Museum will host Whet Thursday on April 7 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 374 Metal Museum Drive. Attendees can participate in a foundry class, tour the galleries, and enjoy food trucks, cash bar and live music. Cost is free. Visit metalmuseum.org.

28. Bartlett Judicial Races Shifted To August Ballot - Thursday, March 24, 2016

The two municipal judges in Bartlett learned this week that they have races to run on the August ballot, not the November ballot they were scheduled to run on.

The addition of two races to the Aug. 4 Shelby County ballot comes two weeks before the April 7 filing deadline for the nonpartisan local races as well as the state and federal primary contests.

29. August Election Ballot Filling Out Ahead of April 7 Deadline - Thursday, March 10, 2016

The presidential contenders have moved on to other states and closed up their Memphis storefronts.

And the excitement of the national campaigns that burst into town all in one weekend just before the March 1 Tennessee primaries has shifted to the same frenetic political activity in other states.

30. Trust Fund Mentioned as Possible $1.1B Solution on School Benefits Liability - Monday, February 8, 2016

A trust fund is one possibility that has surfaced early in the formal discussions of the Shelby County School system’s $1.1 billion benefits liability.

The first meeting of the ad hoc committee on the matter last week drew nine of the 13 Shelby County Commissioners, the administration of Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell and two of nine Shelby County Schools board members.

31. SCS Board Authorizes More Discussions On Crosstown High - Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Shelby County Schools board members have authorized superintendent Dorsey Hopson to continue discussions about a Crosstown High School.

The board approved a resolution Tuesday, Jan. 26, that also sets some parameters for the talks with the developers of Crosstown Concourse and Christian Brothers University about the collaboration.

32. Crosstown High School Plans Emerge - Thursday, January 21, 2016

As more details emerged this week of a new high school in the mammoth Crosstown Concourse redevelopment, there remained many other details to work out before the August 2017 planned opening.

Crosstown High School, which would use the University of Memphis’ Campus School as a model, has been talked about behind the scenes since Gestalt Community Services pulled out of Concourse last year. SCS board members got their first look at the plan Tuesday, Jan. 19.

33. Candidates Already Gearing Up For August Elections - Friday, January 8, 2016

The ballot for the March 1 Tennessee presidential primaries and county primaries for General Sessions Court Clerk was set while many voters were focused on the holidays and preparations for the new city leaders taking office in January.

34. Tennessee Education Report Card Shows Some Gains For Shelby County Students - Monday, October 26, 2015

The Tennessee Department of Education’s report card for Shelby County Schools showed a slight increase in the graduation rate.

The rate rose to 75 percent in the 2014-15 school year from 74.6 percent the previous year.

35. Jones Re-Elected Board Chair for Shelby County Schools - Saturday, October 3, 2015

Teresa Jones was elected Tuesday, Sept. 29, to a second one-year term as chairwoman of the Shelby County Schools board. She had no opposition.

36. Jones Re-Elected Board Chair For Shelby County Schools - Thursday, October 1, 2015

Teresa Jones was elected Tuesday, Sept. 29, to a second one-year term as chairwoman of the Shelby County Schools board. She had no opposition.

37. Public Outcry Kills Tennessee Bill to Charge for Public Records - Thursday, September 24, 2015

People of every political stripe across Tennessee are rising in protest to legislation allowing government to charge fees for inspection of public records.

Fisk University student Justin Jones said such a financial imposition would place an “undue burden” on his fellow collegians seeking information from public records as part of research papers and other assignments.

38. New Westhaven Elementary Calms Community Concerns - Saturday, September 19, 2015

There was a time when Bridget Bradley in the same room with Shelby County Schools board members might have been a confrontation.

39. Shelby County Schools Files Suit Over State Education Funding - Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Shelby County Schools leaders announced Monday, Aug. 31, that the system has filed its own lawsuit against Tennessee state government over public education funding.

The school system filed its lawsuit Monday in Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville.

40. Despite Personnel Losses, UT’s Defense Should Be Much-Improved - Saturday, August 29, 2015

John Jancek begins his third season as Tennessee’s defensive coordinator under head coach Butch Jones, and thanks to two solid recruiting classes should have his best defense with the Vols.

UT is bigger and faster on the defensive side than the previous two seasons, when the Vols showed improvement from the 2012 season by shaving more than 100 yards and 11 points per game allowed.

41. Hopson Proposes Schools Budget Additions, Health Insurance Changes - Friday, April 17, 2015

Shelby County Schools superintendent Dorsey Hopson wants the SCS board to consider adding $14.2 million to the school system’s still-forming budget proposal.

Hopson added the list of 16 items for the board’s consideration at a budget retreat Thursday, April 16, in which he and his staff announced they had bridged a gap between revenues and expenditures of $15 million without the extra items.

42. County Budget Proposal Includes $6 Million Dilemma - Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Some of the numbers crucial to the bottom line of Shelby County’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year are still expected with about four months left in the fiscal year.

But at the outset of county commission budget hearings that begin Wednesday, April 8, here’s what the dollar figures look like.

43. Luttrell's $1.1 Billion Budget Plan Goes to Commission Wednesday - Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell takes a $1.18 billion budget proposal to Shelby County Commissioners in Wednesday, April 8, committee sessions.

44. School Competition Shows Promise, Threat - Tuesday, April 7, 2015

The competition among Shelby County Schools, the Achievement School District and charter schools has been a positive for public schools, say two Shelby County Schools board members.

But board chairwoman Teresa Jones and board member Chris Caldwell say the competition of the last three school years also has split the funding and could threaten classroom success.

45. School Leaders Concerned About Closing Disruptions - Thursday, March 26, 2015

Orleans Elementary School closed last year and its 169 students were transferred to Lincoln Elementary School for the current school year.

Under a proposal the Shelby County Schools board votes on next week, Lincoln Elementary would close at the end of this school year and in August its students would attend A.B. Hill Elementary School.

46. Settlement Could Fund I-Zone Schools - Thursday, January 29, 2015

With federal money about to run out for the Shelby County Schools Innovation Zone schools, the $8 million in cash due from the city of Memphis next month is most likely to land in the bank account for that effort.

47. School Board Approves Settlement Over 2008 Funding Cut - Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Nearly six years after it began, the Shelby County Schools system and the city of Memphis have settled their differences over the city council’s 2008 decision to cut funding to what was then the Memphis City Schools system.

48. Murfreesboro, Nashville Players Get Jump on UT Careers - Saturday, January 24, 2015

KNOXVILLE – Jack Jones didn’t want to waste any time getting started with his football career at the University of Tennessee, so he graduated in December from Murfreesboro Oakland High School.

49. Discussion Remains in Schools Settlement - Thursday, December 18, 2014

The Memphis City Council still has a pretty strong case that its approval of a settlement between the city and Shelby County Schools over a six-year-old funding dispute will be necessary at some point.

50. Wharton and Schools Settle Six-Year Funding Dispute Without Council - Wednesday, December 17, 2014

It appears Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. and the Shelby County Schools board have settled the six-year dispute over city funding for schools without the Memphis City Council.

But the fast-moving compromise will likely require a council vote to fund it.

51. Board Seeks ASD Transition Involvement - Thursday, December 11, 2014

As the state-run Achievement School District prepares to announce which low-performing Memphis schools it will take in its third year starting in August, Shelby County Schools board members are considering a better transition period.

52. Achievement Schools Opposition Finds Frustration - Thursday, October 30, 2014

Charter school operators who are being considered for the next round of schools entering the state-run Achievement School District are facing the most organized opposition effort in the three-year history of the district in Memphis.

53. Jones Elected Chair of County Schools Board - Saturday, October 4, 2014

Teresa Jones is the new chairman of the Shelby County Schools board.

Jones was elected without opposition Tuesday, Sept. 30, at the first meeting of the nine-member school board elected to four-year terms in August. She serves as chairwoman of the board for the next year.

54. Jones Elected Chair of Shelby County Schools Board - Thursday, October 2, 2014

Teresa Jones is the new chairman of the Shelby County Schools board.

Jones was elected without opposition Tuesday, Sept. 30, at the first meeting of the nine-member school board elected to four-year terms in August. She serves as chairwoman of the board for the next year.

55. Wharton Suggests Moving High School Football To Days - Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Shelby County Schools superintendent Dorsey Hopson said Tuesday, Sept. 30, that Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. has suggested the school system move its night football games to day time hours as one answer to mob violence by teenagers.

56. Democratic Divide Widens in Election Results - Friday, August 8, 2014

Democrats have retained their seven-vote majority on the new single-district Shelby County Commission that takes office Sept. 1.

That and the re-election victory of Democratic incumbent Cheyenne Johnson in the race for Shelby County Assessor of Property were the only bright spots for a divided local Democratic Party that lost every other countywide partisan elected position to Republicans in the Aug. 7 county general election, just as they lost every countywide position to Republicans four years earlier.

57. Cohen Prevails, Incumbents Dominate - Friday, August 8, 2014

Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen held off Thursday, Aug. 7, the most serious electoral challenge he’s faced since winning the Congressional seat in 2006, in the form of attorney Ricky E. Wilkins.

58. Hopson Contract Extension Represents Reform Mandate - Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Public school superintendents in Tennessee are not elected in a popular vote anymore. They are appointed by school boards – the only hiring decision school boards make.

So when the Shelby County Schools board voted 6-0 Monday, June 23, to extend the three-year contract of superintendent Dorsey Hopson through June 2018, it was a mandate by the board for the student achievement gains Hopson and the board have set as goals.

59. Game Changer - Saturday, June 7, 2014

One educator’s reform is another educator’s wrong move.

Dorsey Hopson doesn’t use the word “reform” as often as he uses the term “game changer.”

But the superintendent of Shelby County Schools has himself become a game changer as the school board that signed him to a three-year contract last September weighs a further extension of his three-year contract that for now runs through September 2016.

60. School Board Sets Hopson Contract Extension Vote - Friday, June 6, 2014

Shelby County Schools board members are scheduled to vote on a contract extension for schools superintendent Dorsey Hopson at a special board meeting June 23.

Notice of the meeting comes about a week after school board chairman Kevin Woods authorized the school system’s attorney, Valerie Speakman, to begin contract negotiations with Hopson and his representative on the extension.

61. Hopson Contract Extension Faces Tight Timeline - Monday, May 26, 2014

The Shelby County Schools board will discuss Tuesday, May 27, an extension of Dorsey Hopson’s three-year contract to be superintendent of the school system.

And a vote could come at the board’s June 17 work session, if not sooner. Under state law, the body has up to 45 days before the August school board elections to extend the contract or leave the matter for consideration by the next school board.

62. Caught in the Middle - Saturday, March 29, 2014

Even before the Affordable Care Act came along, Deborah Casey was living between a logistical rock and an economic hard place. Casey, a 61-year-old widow, draws a monthly Social Security check based on her husband’s earnings. She works part-time for Shelby County (no benefits), and to continue receiving the same amount in that Social Security check, she has to keep tabs on how much she makes. This is exactly how someone who wants to provide for herself winds up on a “fixed income.”

63. Schools Demerger Reflects Cooperation, Competition - Tuesday, March 18, 2014

For now, Shelby County’s seven public school systems are cooperating and competing with one another often at the same time on the way to the demerger of public education in August.

The same dual existence is playing itself out between the Shelby County Schools board and parents of children who have attended schools about to be in the suburban school systems but who live outside the six cities and towns.

64. Ruling Sets School Board Membership at Nine - Thursday, March 13, 2014

No local elected body in Shelby County has changed as many times in as short a period of time as the Shelby County Schools board.

The federal court order Tuesday, March 11, by U.S. District Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays approving the restructure of the school board to a nine-member body effective Sept. 1 will mark the third change in the school board in three years when it takes effect following August school board elections.

65. Mays Approves 9-Member County Schools Board - Wednesday, March 12, 2014

With two rulings in as many days, U.S. District Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays this week cleared his schedule of any pending matters in the reformation of public education in Shelby County.

Mays approved the restructuring of the Shelby County Schools board Tuesday, March 11, to a nine-member body with districts that include the city of Memphis and unincorporated Shelby County but not the six suburban towns and cities.

66. Cordova Parents Question Attendance Zone Changes - Monday, March 10, 2014

Parents in Cordova are used to the complexities of school system boundaries. They’ve lived with them for years, with part of the area within the city of Memphis and the other part in unincorporated Shelby County.

67. School Closings Votes Leave Issues - Thursday, February 27, 2014

Shelby County Schools board members completed Tuesday, Feb. 25, the first half of their actions to prepare the new map of the demerged school system for the academic year that begins in August. And they set the stage for more possible changes in years to come.

68. County Commission Delays Schools Redistricting - Friday, February 7, 2014

With candidates in the August Shelby County Schools board elections already a month into their filing period, the Shelby County Commission delayed Wednesday, Feb. 5, any vote on changes in the number of seats on the school board as well as the district lines until its Feb. 24 meeting.

69. County Schools Weighs Charter Rent Waiver - Thursday, January 30, 2014

Shelby County Schools superintendent Dorsey Hopson is considering waiving rent payments by charter schools that lease the school system’s old buildings in return for them taking all children in an area and coordinating their location with Shelby County Schools.

70. Hopson Says Germantown Schools Agreement is a Start - Thursday, December 12, 2013

The last of the suburban schools agreements is making its way through a set of votes that should settle who gets what schools and the end of the federal court lawsuit contesting the formation of the six municipal school districts.

71. Arlington, Lakeland School Pacts Go to Commission - Thursday, November 21, 2013

Shelby County Commissioners meet Friday, Nov. 22, for the second time this week.

Friday’s special meeting is the latest stop for the agreements that transfer school buildings to the forming municipal school districts in Arlington and Lakeland and end a federal lawsuit over those two school districts.

72. Board to Weigh School Closings - Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Countywide school board members are scheduled to vote Tuesday, March 26, on the closings of four schools at the end of the current year.

And they could see additions to the agenda that put the Achievement School District’s Gestalt Community Schools charter operation in Humes Middle School with the new school year. That would also come with an end for the time being of plans for a new optional school the school board had approved for Humes at the start of the school year.

73. School Board Restructuring Plan Goes to Mays - Wednesday, March 20, 2013

On the way to U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays is a plan by the Shelby County Commission to convert the countywide school board to a 13-member single-district body effective Sept. 1.

74. County Commission Weighs School Merger Changes - Monday, March 18, 2013

Shelby County Commissioners might discuss Monday, March 18, the idea of restructuring the countywide school board for a third time in the last year and a half.

But they are likely to delay action on a resolution that would create a 13-member school board effective Sept. 1 by appointing six new members to go with the seven existing members.

75. School Board Expansion Advanced - Thursday, March 14, 2013

Shelby County Commissioners advanced in Wednesday, March 13, committee sessions a general plan to restructure the countywide school board.

But the plan to turn the 23-member board into a 13-member board on Sept. 1, instead of the seven-member board it is now scheduled to become on that date, is far from complete. And lots of legal questions remain about the details.

76. Legal Path to Special Master Unclear - Thursday, February 28, 2013

If U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays appoints a special master to oversee the merger of Shelby County’s two public school systems, there are legal questions about how much authority the master would have and precisely what he or she would do to advance the merger’s pace.

77. School Ethics Committee Begins Work - Friday, January 25, 2013

Three countywide school board members on Wednesday, Jan. 23, began the first ethics probe of another board member that anyone with either school system can remember.

School board member Martavius Jones made a formal complaint in December that fellow member David Pickler violated the board’s code of ethics by not disclosing his personal interest in school board business. He also called for Pickler to resign.

78. School Board Divisions Resurface - Thursday, December 20, 2012

Countywide school board members already had a lot on their agenda Tuesday, Dec. 18, when they were surprised by an internal ethics investigation.

Near the beginning of this week’s meeting, school board member Martavius Jones offered a resolution calling on board member David Pickler to resign over money put aside by school districts under the Tennessee School Boards Association to cover the liability of other post-employment benefits (OPEB).

79. Conflict Charge Roils Busy School Board Meeting - Wednesday, December 19, 2012

One countywide school board member called Tuesday, Dec. 18, for the resignation of another board member over an alleged conflict of interest.

School board member Martavius Jones offered a resolution calling on board member David Pickler to resign over money put aside by school districts under the Tennessee School Boards Association to cover the liability of OPEB amounts – other post-employment benefits.

80. Obama Carries Shelby, Cohen Over Flinn and Two Tax Hikes Defeated - Wednesday, November 7, 2012

President Barack Obama carried Shelby County in unofficial Nov. 6 election returns as his Republican challenger Mitt Romney took the state’s 11 electoral votes.

Voter turnout in the most popular election cycle among Shelby County voters was 61.9 percent, about the same percentage as four years ago. But the 371,256 voters is fewer than 2008 when more than 400,000 Shelby County voters cast ballots. The percentage is about the same because there are fewer registered voters in Shelby County than there were four years ago after a purge by election officials.

81. Shelby Early Vote Shows Cohen Winning - Two Tax Questions Losing - Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Early vote totals from Shelby County were released just before 10 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 6, after the vote count was delayed in part by long lines of voters waiting to vote at the 7 p.m. closing of polls.

82. Getting to Business - Wednesday, September 26, 2012

A year after they took the oath of office along with other members of the new countywide school board, David Reaves and Billy Orgel got a brusque introduction to each other.

83. School Board to Begin Merger Votes Next Week - Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Countywide school board members should begin voting up or down the first recommendations of the schools consolidation planning commission at their Thursday, Sept. 27, meeting.

The recommendations are the blueprint for how the merged school system will operate leading up to and past the merger start date of August 2013.

84. Work Remains for Superintendent Selection Group - Tuesday, August 21, 2012

The group trying to come up with a process for selecting a superintendent to lead the merger of Shelby County’s two school systems has a lot of lead work to do in a short time.

The group is likely to have numerous discussions in the coming weeks about what kind of school system that superintendent will be leading. The countywide school board hasn’t yet acted on the set of recommendations from the planning commission that will define the merged school district’s structure and scope.

85. Suburban School Board Races Almost Set - Friday, August 17, 2012

Races on the Nov. 6 ballot for six sets of suburban school boards took shape Thursday, Aug. 16, at the noon filing deadline for candidate qualifying petitions.

The candidates that made the deadline have another week to withdraw from the races if they wish.

86. Muni Schools Questions Pass, Cohen Wins Big - Friday, August 3, 2012

Voters in each of the six suburban towns and cities in Shelby County approved establishing municipal school districts in the unofficial results of the Thursday, Aug. 2, county general and state and federal primary elections.

87. Muni Schools, Cohen, Weirich, Johnson, Stanton, Kyle Take Early Vote - Friday, August 3, 2012

Voters in each of the six suburban towns and cities in Shelby County were overwhelmingly approving the establishment of municipal school districts and a half cent sales tax hike to fund them in the first vote totals released Thursday, Aug. 2 by the Shelby County Election Commission.

88. School Board Looks for Consensus - Tuesday, June 26, 2012

After effectively ruling out Kriner Cash last week as the leader of the consolidated Shelby County school system, school board members now turn to a decision about how to select that superintendent.

89. School Board Votes Not To Renew Cash's Contract - Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The countywide school board voted Tuesday, June 19, not to renew the contract of Memphis City Schools superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash past August 2013 when it is scheduled to run out.

The 14-8 vote came during two back-to-back school board meetings covering five hours in which the board also agreed to talk more about a process for selecting the superintendent of the consolidated school system to come at a meeting next week.

90. Questions Arise Over Cash Buyout Talks - Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Talks to buy out the contract of Memphis City Schools superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash began last December after a heated conversation between Cash and countywide school board chairman Billy Orgel.

That’s what Orgel told school board members Monday, June 11, at a board meeting that adjourned after board members met behind closed doors for 35 minutes with their attorneys.

91. School Board Races Set - Monday, April 9, 2012

The chairman of the countywide school board, Billy Orgel, has effectively won election to his District 7 school board seat without opposition.

Five other incumbents appointed to the seven-district school board seats by the Shelby County Commission filed for re-election at the Thursday, April 5, filing deadline.

92. Cohen-Hart in Congressional Race at Filing Deadline - Friday, April 6, 2012

The chairman of the countywide school board, Billy Orgel, was effectively elected to his District 7 school board seat without opposition at the Thursday, April 5, filing deadline for candidates on the Aug. 2 primary and general election ballot in Shelby County.

93. Deadline Looms for Complex Aug. Elections - Thursday, March 29, 2012

The August elections were already going to be more complex than usual. There are the changes from this year’s drawing of new district lines for the Tennessee Legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives.

94. Burton Promoted to PR Manager at inferno - Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Ashley Burton has been promoted to public relations manager at inferno. Burton joined the agency in 2005 and most recently served as a public relations account executive.

95. Packers' Run Inspiring Titans in Playoff Chase - Wednesday, December 28, 2011

NASHVILLE (AP) – The Tennessee Titans are getting inspiration from the Green Bay Packers of a season ago in their improbable bid for the AFC's final wild-card spot.

Just as Green Bay did a year ago, the Titans (8-7) are trying to win their final two games to reach the playoffs while needing plenty help from other teams.

96. Jaguars Try to Spoil Titans' Must-Win Situation - Monday, December 26, 2011

NASHVILLE (AP) – With all the AFC's playoff scenarios, the math is simple for the Tennessee Titans.

Win Saturday or nothing else matters.

Tennessee ruined the chance to control its playoff fate with two straight losses, and none more painful than the last to the previously winless Colts. Now the Titans (7-7) are looking up at the New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals needing lots of help to earn a playoff berth under first-year coach Mike Munchak.

97. New School Board Preps For ‘Gargantuan Task’ - Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Martavius Jones didn’t stumble over his introduction at all Monday, Oct. 5, as seven new members of the new countywide school board took the oath of office.

“I used to be president of the Memphis City Schools board,” he said to a crowd of 400 that included officials of the two still separate school districts as well as family and friends of the new school board members. “This is a great day for all of Shelby County.”

98. Schools Get Fresh Start With New Board - Monday, October 3, 2011

The separate Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools boards are no more when the end of September rolls over into October.

And the 23 members of the countywide Shelby County Schools board take the oath of office Monday, Oct. 3 at the MCS auditorium.

99. County Commission Completes New School Board - Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Shelby County Commissioners made seven appointments Monday, Sept. 12, to the new countywide school board that takes office Oct. 1.

The appointment process completes a 23-member board that is to take office Oct. 1 with the seven appointees joining the nine current Memphis City Schools board members and the seven current Shelby County Schools board members.

100. Commission To Pick School Board Members - Monday, September 12, 2011

Shelby County Commissioners take the final step Monday, Sept. 12, to the creation of a new countywide school board that will take office in three weeks.

The commission meets at 1:30 p.m. at the Vasco Smith County Administration Building, 160 N. Main St.