The school district in Shelby County, Tenn., which includes Memphis, has a new permanent superintendent: Dorsey E. Hopson II.
Hopson has been the interim superintendent of the 140,000-student district since Kriner Cash resigned in January.
The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports that the move, proposed by school board member David Pickler, was unanimously approved by the district’s governing board. Hopson attended Memphis schools and was the district’s legal counsel before becoming interim superintendent.
Since January, Hopson has presided over a contentious merger between the Memphis school district and the Shelby County school district. The merger is the largest in the nation’s history, but may be short-lived: You can read this Education Week article for some context about the situation in Memphis.
In an unrelated media call today, Pickler told reporters that the decision to make Hopson’s leadership permanent would allow the board to focus on student achievement rather than on a superintendent search.
Memphis was one of a number of big-city districts looking for new leaders as of the end of last school year.
Photo: Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dorsey Hopson greets students preparing for their first day of classes at Idlewild Elementary School in Memphis on Aug. 5. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal/AP