After just two years, Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS), Tennessee’s largest school district, is searching for another superintendent. In December 2024, Board Chair Joyce Dorse-Coleman announced a resolution to fire Marie Feagins. According to the resolution terminating employment contract enacted by Dorse-Coleman, the document alleged that Feagins:

• Failed to provide proof of a statement that district employees engaged in overtime fraud surpassing $1 million.
• Accepted a donation exceeding $45,000 without receiving required board approval.
• Misled the board and public about a failed federal grant fund, stating to the board the funds were still available even though they had expired.

Following these allegations, the school board faced public backlash, with parents and teachers demanding the board focus more on education than firing Feagins. By policy, it is the board’s decision to decide if a superintendent is serving the district’s best interests.

Board Member Natalie McKinney, who voted in favor of Feagins’ termination, says that the board considered the public’s concerns. McKinney represents District 2 and joined the board in September 2024, four months after Feagins was hired. When voting in favor of Feagins’ termination, McKinney focused on her duty as an elected official to maintain a transparent, honest school district while understanding that her decision might cause the public to question the board’s jurisdiction.

“We will listen to and take into account what people say and their feedback and desires; however, ultimately for the board, statutorily and by policy, it is [our] responsibility to choose a superintendent,” McKinney said. “There is nothing in law that says we have to take into consideration community input, but it is something we feel is important … we do not have a policy on community input around the management and/or termination of our superintendent. I listened to people who had concerns and opinions on the situation, and I took in everyone’s feedback. I was balancing all of the community’s opinions, including parents, teachers, staff, school leaders … and students.”

What role do board members play in Feagins’ termination?

The MSCS Board of Education comprises nine elected board members, representing the nine districts collectively responsible for over 110,000 students. As a board member, each member works with the superintendent to oversee the school district’s budget, policy, performance and direction. Board meetings occur twice a month: one for work sessions to plan and discuss potential policies and budgets and another for business meetings during which the board votes on the resolutions and proposals created during work sessions. Since the board’s primary interest is MSCS community members, all board meetings are open to the public, allowing pre-approved community members to voice their concerns. The board’s job is to maintain the integrity of MSCS by holding the superintendent accountable and ensuring they are actively improving the school district. 

“Of all the elected bodies, we are the only ones who have to manage our elected officials in public,” McKinney said. “The county commissioners do not have any power over the county mayor because … the county commissioner is elected, and so is the mayor … so they are accountable to the voters. The city [government] is the same way. The city council is elected, and so is the mayor; they are accountable to the voters. We are accountable to the people, but we are the only ones [on the Board of Education] elected. The superintendent serves at the pleasure of the board; they are appointed and at-will employees. The only thing that dictates our relationships are the contracts and policies set in place.”

In a 3-6 vote, the majority of board members found Feagins’ actions as superintendent as not in the best interest of MSCS. As outlined in Dorse-Coleman’s superintendent termination resolution, she alleged that Feagins displayed continuous behaviors of lack of communication with district partners and that her actions were “detrimental to the District and the families it serves.”

“The board did a lot of things to try to coach Dr. Feagins through some of the things she was encountering as a new superintendent,” McKinney said. “The culmination of that coaching came in June 2024, after the series of reorganizing and firing staff members. [The board] had a resolution that said to Feagins, ‘Let’s put a pause on [these measures] and give us a plan on how this impacts students, the budget and what are your plans to ensure that these are minimal impacts.’”

Who is Marie Feagins?

After MSCS conducted an 18-month nationwide superintendent search, Feagins was appointed superintendent in February 2024 and assumed her role in April 2024. Feagins received her doctorate of education degree at Samford University and started her career as a professional school counselor at Tuscaloosa City Schools in Alabama. After becoming the principal of Cleveland Metro School, Ohio, she moved to Michigan and became the chief of leadership and high school for Detroit Public Schools Community District. 

Feagins was the district’s first superintendent not from Tennessee since the merging of Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools. According to scsk12.org, Feagins was picked by the board for her “enthusiasm for immersing herself in the vibrant culture of Memphis and Shelby County.” However, her outsider perspective caused conflict between her and the Board of Education. During her first 100 days in office, Feagins removed over 1,100 jobs to save money. Despite this, she allowed laid-off employees to resume classroom jobs to combat the teacher shortage. Her approach to strengthening MSCS’ budget was not widely supported by school staff, who argued that her decision was not transparent and disproportionately affected critical staff members. 

While Feagins’ initial transition involved cutting back on board spending endeavors, her recent firing could cost the school district over $1 million in superintendent expenses since August 2022.

How much will firing Feagins cost MSCS?

In August 2022, former Superintendent Joris Ray resigned from his position after his public divorce documents alleged he had an affair with multiple board members. Following these allegations, the district hired Attorney Edward L. Stanton III to investigate the presented allegations, costing the district $19,000. However, before the investigation was completed, Ray enacted a resolution for his resignation. 

Under the MSCS superintendent contract agreement, the district only has to pay the superintendent if they fire them without cause. Though Ray resigned on his terms, the board and he agreed that the school district would pay him $480,000, an 18-month salary, if both parties did not admit to foul play. 

In February 2023, MSCS started its nationwide superintendent search with a budget of $69,000; however, the district added an extra $19,000 after the board denied its initial candidates. While searching for the next superintendent, Toni Williams assumed the position of interim superintendent in August 2022. She previously served as the district’s chief financial officer. Williams received an annual salary of $310,000 and served as interim superintendent from August 2022 to March 2024.

Due to these costs, the district has lost almost $900,000 in searching for a superintendent. With Feagins’ recent firing, the district is expected to provide a pay-out amount similar to Ray’s.

Where is MSCS currently?

After Board Chair Dorse-Coleman presented her resolution for Feagins’ firing, the board hired outside attorney Robert Spence to investigate the claims made against Feagins. His results concluded that all allegations against her were true, with Feagins violating her contract no less than eight times. This resulted in MSCS having another vacant superintendent position. Due to the validity of the allegations against Feagins, MSCS does not have to pay her because they fired her with cause.

Following her termination, Feagins said in a quick interview with FOX13 that “many members of the board chose chaos over children … so I’ll see them in court.” Although it is unclear if Feagins will win or if both parties will settle outside of court, the district’s search for a superintendent would have cost MSCS over $1 million after legal expenses. 

On Feb. 3, court records showed former Superintendent Feagins sued MSCS board members for allegedly violating the Tennessee Open Meetings Act. The act requires school board meetings to be open to the public and recorded to prevent elected officials from making decisions in private. Feagins alleges that board members held several secret meetings to discuss terminating her, breaching the Tennessee Open Meetings Act of board transparency. In her lawsuit, Feagins claims that Board Chair Joyce Dorse-Coleman, Vice Chair Stephanie Love and former Board Member Althea Greene were the members who conspired her ousting. She also outlines that the school board did not give her or the public proper notice about her potential termination. Dorse-Coleman announced her termination resolution and called a special meeting on Dec.17 with less than a 24-hour notice. Additionally, Feagins alleges that Dorse-Coleman, Love and Greene already planned for Roderick Richmond to be the next superintendent following her dismissal.

Who will serve MSCS?

Soon after Board Chair Dorse-Coleman’s resolution passed, she announced Richmond would assume the interim superintendent position. Richmond started teaching in 1993. He became the district’s chief academic officer during the merging of Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools. He helped MSCS receive a Level 5 rating, the highest a district can achieve. Under Feagins’ leadership, he was appointed as the district’s transformation officer. As the transformation officer, he was tasked with helping 76 schools that received a D or F rating boost their letter grade for the upcoming year. Richmond has worked with the district for over three decades and was a candidate for the superintendent search before Feagins was chosen. He plans to run for superintendent.

What is the future of MSCS?

As Tennessee’s largest school district, the state has discussed potential intervention. State Representative G.A. Hardaway recently drafted a new legislation allowing elected officials — specifically MSCS board members — to immediately be re-elected by community members. 

Throughout Shelby County, Feagins’ ousting left many students feeling that the board did not consider their opinions. On Jan. 25, Overton and Crosstown High School conducted a school-wide walkout to support Feagins.

Within the last seven years, the school district has had five superintendents, including interim positions. The future of leadership for MSCS remains uncertain.

“In the history of Memphis-Shelby County Schools, we have never had to fire a superintendent,” McKinney said. “This was new terrain for us — uncharted territory. I’m not saying we got the process right, so hopefully, we never have to do this again. We always have to think prospectively. We look back and see and review information; we always do some sort of review of action. That’s how you grow, and that’s how you get better.”