Mick Wright

Right on the Bluff - November 2025. In this issue: Memphis Safe Task Force, School board accountability, collaborative efforts tinyurl.com/k9zmxkze

Every few days since early January, members of the media have asked me if I know anything about local officials being indicted. It’s typically been three names suggested, serving in a variety of roles, but more lately it’s been “two commissioners.” Social media accounts promoting the inside scoop are generating attention and clicks by dropping hints with non-specific or incomplete information. Because that’s how federal investigators work — they always leak partial intel to internet randos before filing charges. 🙄 If something happens, I’m confident we’ll all hear about it together. Otherwise, check the facts and follow the sources. It might be that someone has a motive for spreading rumors. If there are no “receipts,” as the kids say, hold those people accountable for lying to you, gossiping, and profiting from your demand for provocative content. And have the best day ever.

The county’s annual audit of custodial funds finds three material weaknesses, all of them in the county clerk’s office.

MSCS Forensic Audit Interim Report fast facts: Audit firm CliftonLarsonAllen was hired by the State of Tennessee to perform a forensic audit of Memphis Shelby County Schools. The audit looks at Fiscal Years 2022-2024 (the period ending June 30, 2024). The interim report was released April 1, 2026 and is available on the Tennessee Comptroller's website. The report is 329 pages, divided into 3 volumes: - Vol 1. Internal Controls Assessment and IT Cybersecurity Risk Assessment - Vol 2. Forensic Audit - Vol 3. Whitehaven STEM lab investigation Volume 1 is 100% complete. Volume 2 is approximately 25% complete. Volume 3 is approximately 85% complete. Across the three volumes, CLA provided 187 observations (major findings) and made 88 recommendations. In Volume 1, the Internal Controls Assessment runs 36 pages and contains 44 observations. Meanwhile, the IT Cybersecurity Risk Assessment runs 30 pages and contains 51 observations, all of them redacted due to security concerns. Volume 3 concerns a single project, the Whitehaven STEM lab. This volume runs 55 pages, contains 13 observations and provides 11 recommendations. This volume is largely but not completely finished. Volume 2 is the meat of the forensic audit and is still in progress. It runs 201 pages, contains 79 observations, and provides 77 recommendations. As of the interim report, $1.1 million in potential waste and abuse has been documented, as well as another $1.7 million in transactions that are not compliant with policy. From a sample of 250 employee records studied, I-9 forms were missing from 100 files (40%). CLA repeatedly emphasizes trouble obtaining documentation. To quote from one section of the interim report: "CLA’s ability to complete planned procedures and obtain sufficient appropriate evidence related to procurement, contracting, and vendor management was materially constrained by the District’s delayed and incomplete production of requested records, the absence of centrally maintained procurement data, and fragmented record‑keeping practices. These conditions represent scope limitations for purposes of this interim report, and the conclusions presented are based solely on the evidence available as of the report date." It continues: "Despite extensive and ongoing efforts by CLA, including repeated document requests, weekly status calls, interviews, monthly onsite visits, and multiple follow‑up communications, the District did not provide significant categories of requested procurement and contract documentation. As a result, CLA was unable to fully corroborate procurement methods, contract execution, oversight of deliverables, and invoicing in certain instances, leaving portions of the work unresolved pending receipt of additional information." CLA encountered similar issues in obtaining documentation from the district's fiscal agent: "CLA’s ability to assess SchoolSeed’s broader fiscal agent role or the completeness of MSCS-related financial activity was materially limited. CLA also identified discrepancies between SchoolSeed’s representations that no contracts existed with MSCS and District records reflecting multiple executed agreements and related payments involving SchoolSeed." The forensic audit work continues despite delays caused by lack of timely cooperation from the district: "In preparation for issuance of this interim report, CLA provided MSCS with a consolidated list of contracts‑related missing documentation and unresolved questions and requested responses by February 13, 2026. As of the date of this report, despite multiple follow‑up efforts by CLA, including an on‑site visit during the week of February 20, 2026, MSCS has not produced the requested information." CLA has provided June 30, 2026 as the anticipated completion date. This of course depends upon cooperation from the district and its fiscal agent.

@mulroyj Correct

@mickwright Not sure I understand the chart. Is this how close they are to completion on each element?

Here's the status of the MSCS forensic audit according to the interim report.

Label duplication is my mistake. The first instance of "procurement" represents Volume 2 Section B, Procurement and Contract Management. The second instance represents Volume 2 Section D, Governance and Compliance, procurement correspondence subcategory. Sorry for any confusion.

@KickinWithKush @DumbleDoritosA @FastbreakHoops5 @KendrickPerkins @RealSkipBayless

@DumbleDoritosA @FastbreakHoops5 @mickwright @KendrickPerkins @RealSkipBayless What gif to a county commish is going to have feds knocking at yout door 🤣

If you had to silence 3 mics forever, who are you choosing?

@RossPeterson_ Our top people are being targeted, attacked and killed by foreign adversaries. cbsnews.com/amp/news/60-mi…

What is happening?

@Mediaverse Reading is fun.

@mickwright I would love for them to read.

This is a lie. Boldface. The audit did not find signficant operational concerns; it did not find significant waste and fraud. This kind of reporting is fraudulent. This is purposeful distortion.

@mulroyj There’s no budget hammer at the commission due to the maintenance of effort law.

@mickwright The school system needs focused reform management but not more managers. Please no more political appointments--that won’t work. The commission has the budget hammer.

TN Comptroller: Interim forensic audit identifies widespread operational failures within Memphis-Shelby County Schools comptroller.tn.gov/news/2026/4/1/…

Congratulations again to Emily Harrell, who was recently hired as the first female City Manager in the history of Lakeland. It was a pleasure to recognize her for Women's History Month.

The request to appeal had been pending before the Tennessee Supreme Court for 98 days. The matter was before the Court of Appeals for 283 days. It now returns to Judge Felicia Corbin Johnson for the third time. The ouster petition was originally brought to this court 694 days ago.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has denied Wanda Halbert's appeal. The case returns to trial court.

Waiting on that forensic audit

I have several more reasons, but possibly among the biggest is the failure to revise any of the above guidance, examine how it was so poorly constructed, and take steps to prevent such breakdowns from happening again in the future. In part due to that failure, there are still individuals locally who regularly wear masks, or worse intermittently put them on and off, based on vibes, the presence of cameras, or in the event of someone’s sneeze, in the year of our lord 2026, and in the absence of any logical justification or goal. And then there’s the matter of public health absorbing all legislative and executive authority, drafting public health orders in secret, and failing to adhere to their own guidelines, while dictating private business and enforcing where everyone can stand, sit or breathe. At least in my county.

1. Reversal on mask mandates. Suddenly masks “worked” after never having worked in the past for comparable viruses. And the definition of “work” was never provided. The new rule was enforced through incomplete, faulty, or non-existent data (to support a narrative that was easily disproven), through government-sponsored social media throttling and de-platforming, and through mass media censorship. 2. School closures were never justified and led both to massive education gaps and to massive increases in juvenile delinquency and crime. Even if children were at high risk, one should not use only one factor (avoiding a virus) to make such critical decisions with such massive implications. 3. Claims about the vaccine eliminating the virus were complete shit. 4. Public heath refused to admit, for months if not years, that the virus was airborne and easily transmitted. That not only bolstered their claims about masks, but also made the public less safe by giving them false confidence, and led to the demonization and re-victimization of those who contracted the virus and found themselves at trial for their supposed failures to follow public health guidance. Even nurses who contracted the virus were criticized for “letting down their guard.” Compete and utter bullshit.

A question for everyone: survey data suggests that by the end of the Covid-19 emergency trust in public health institutions had decreased significantly. If you are among the people who reacted that way, why specifically? I'm hoping for long, diverse, individualized answers.

@JCarpenterTN @SenBrentTaylor

@mickwright @SenBrentTaylor Franklin wasn't ready.

Making Memphis Matter with a little March Madness fun, inspired by @SenBrentTaylor

.@mickwright Excellent work to #MakeMemphisMatter!