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Former Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins is seeking to void the school board’s January vote to oust her.
Feagins claims in a complaint provided by her attorney Monday that the school board violated the Tennessee Open Meetings Act while terminating her contract. She alleges that school board members privately discussed firing her for months ahead of her official ousting in January.
All nine school board members are listed as defendants in the lawsuit, which was filed in Shelby County Circuit Court Monday. Feagins also alleges that interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond met with board members in November to discuss becoming her replacement.
The board’s public relations agency did not respond to Chalkbeat’s request for comment. The district’s spokesperson told Chalkbeat that the interim superintendent can not comment on an open case.
Board Member Michelle McKissack, a Feagins advocate, said she is not surprised by the lawsuit.
“The night that Dr. Feagins’ contract was terminated, she said she was disappointed that the board chose litigation over leadership,” McKissack said. “I’m still disappointed at the decision made that evening as well. But now that this is officially a legal matter, and as a member of the MSCS Board, the only comment I have is this is not a surprise.”
In a media availability Tuesday morning, McKissack also said her fellow board members “need to do some soul searching.”
“Now is going to be your chance to step up to perhaps prove [the lawsuit] wrong,” McKissack said.
The complaint is the latest development in a yearslong Memphis-Shelby County Schools leadership turnover saga.
The district’s board voted 6-3 in January to terminate Feagins’ contract after 10 months on the job, approving a resolution that claimed professional misconduct and inadequate leadership from Feagins. The board fired her with cause and avoided paying $487,500 in severance.
That January meeting followed a specially called December meeting focused on whether to fire Feagins. The board voted to delay a decision until January.
Feagins’ attorney William Wooten said the school board’s December meeting “did not provide the required adequate public notice.” The Open Meetings Act allows the public to attend meetings and requires the governing body to provide sufficient notice to the public of the meeting, but does not define how long that notice must be.
The complaint alleges that at several unofficial outings, including at restaurants and birthday parties, board members discussed firing Feagins.
Feagin claims that in October, board members circulated a draft resolution to suspend her. She also alleges that Interim Superintendent Richmond, a longtime district administrator who served as the district’s transformation officer, began forming a team for his new role after meeting with board members in November.
The complaint also said that three days before the initial December meeting to oust Feagins, some board members discussed firing Feagins while attending former Superintendent Joris Ray’s birthday party.
Feagins alleges her termination stems from an incident with Charles “Dow” McVean, a board member for the Peer Power Foundation, a tutoring and mentorship nonprofit that had a contract with MSCS.
Feagins claims McVean yelled at her for not renewing Peer Power’s contract with the district. Feagins then requested a restraining order against him.
After filing the protective order, Feagins alleges that Memphis City Councilman JB Smiley Jr. shouted at her over the phone.
McVean and Smiley did not respond to Chalkbeat’s request for comment.
Feagins, a former Detroit school administrator, was hired by a previous MSCS board to lead Tennessee’s largest school district after a problem-plagued 18-month search for a successor to Ray, who agreed to resign in 2022 amid an investigation into alleged misdeeds.
The resolution to terminate her, first introduced Dec. 17 by Board Chair Joyce Dorse Coleman, claimed that Feagins:
- Failed to provide evidence of her statement that district employees were paid $1 million in overtime for time not worked.
- Accepted a donation of more than $45,000 without board approval, then misrepresented what happened.
- Misled the board and public about a federal grant and its missed deadline.
Feagins firmly denied any wrongdoing and described herself as a target of “false accusations and political maneuvering.”
Dorse Coleman, Vice Chair Stephanie Love, Natalie McKinney, Sable Otey, Towanna Murphy and Keith Williams voted to fire Feagins in January. McKissack, Tamarques Porter, and Amber Huett-Garcia voted no.
After the board voted to oust Feagins, the former superintendent told reporters that she would “see [the board] in court.”
