Gates Foundation extends Shelby County Schools grant
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Shelby County Schools is being given one more year to use the roughly $11 million left in a gift awarded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2009 to help the cash-strapped district bolster teacher quality efforts.
Chalkbeat Tennessee and The Commercial Appeal report that the Gates money was supposed to be spent by the district by June 30 but can now be stretched until mid-2017.
The district is projected to have an $86 million deficit next school year, but Superintendent Dorsey Hopson said in a statement Tuesday that the money will help the district continue to emphasize investing in teachers.
The foundation had pledged up to $90 million over seven years, beginning in 2009, to overhaul the way the district hires, trains and supports teachers and principals.
