Memphis-Shelby County Schools interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond said he has spent the last two months talking with legislators, both state and county, regarding the possible state takeover of the school district .

"I've even reached out to people from some of the advocacy groups to extend an olive branch and telling them that I'm open to listening," Richmond said Thursday. "A leader should be (a) person who brings people together, who's not divisive, and I'm committed to doing that because I think that's important for our community and it's important for our schools."

The comments came during a sit-down with members of the print media in Memphis. Richmond also said he would "hate to see the state intervene in the manner that it is being proposed."

"We live in a republic, and in a republic, we know that people are elected to represent the people, and...if we really believe in the Constitution, and if we really believe in what our country stands for, I would hope that (intervention)...wouldn't happen," Richmond said.

The comments come amid the legislation's majority vote in the Tennessee House K-12 Education subcommittee on Tuesday. Rep. Mark White, a Republican from Memphis, said the legislation in part, is due to the controversial firing of ex-Superintendent Marie Feagins and the decades-long under-performance of the district.

Richmond took the interim role as the superintendent of the state's largest school district after Feagins was fired by a majority vote by the MSCS school board.

Richmond also emphasized the need for the district to "live in the now," amid pending legislation that seeks to severely take away locally-elected control of MSCS.

"I very much try to live my life in the now, because sometimes when you're trying to anticipate and live in the future, it creates fear and uncertainty," Richmond said. "And what I want us to do as a district is to move forward each and every day, doing the very, very best we can, living in the moment and in the present."

The bill is scheduled to be heard next in the full House Education Committee on March 25.

Brooke Muckerman is a politics and education reporter for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at brooke.muckerman@commercialappeal and 901-484-6225 .