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 .
The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports that the move, proposed by school board member David Pickler, was . Hopson attended Memphis schools and was the district鈥檚 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鈥檚 history, but may be short-lived: You can read this 91制片厂视频 Week article for some .
In an unrelated media call today, Pickler told reporters that the decision to make Hopson鈥檚 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