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3 days ago
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What ex-MSCS Superintendent Marie Feagins said in court about her controversial firing
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the end of the court hearing and final statements made. Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Robert Childers allowed former Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins to amend her legal complaint against the school board, during a hearing on July 22. The new, amended complaint alleged similar violations of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act and also included defamation claims against school board member Towanna Murphy. Childers then allowed witness testimony related to Feagins' claims in her suit for a preliminary injunction. A preliminary injunction would allow Feagins, whose contract was terminated in January, to return to her role as superintendent of MSCS amid the remainder of the court case. Several witnesses, including Feagins, took the stand during the hearing. No ruling on the preliminary injunction was given during the hearing on July 22, but Childers said one would be issued soon. What was said about Marie Feagins' firing in court? William Wooten, Feagins' attorney, called Deidre Malone, who owns the consulting and communications group The Carter Malone Group, as the first witness. The group worked with the school board for five months, starting in November 2024. Wooten questioned Malone intently on her work with the board and what it included, as well as the billing statements for the group's work with the school board. Malone said that two days before the vote to terminate Feagins' contract, she aided in helping now-interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond's information to be introduced to Matthew Hiltzik of Hiltzik Strategies. Malone said she did it because she 'had his information,' and not because she knew he would be the next superintendent. During cross-examination, Robert Spence, representing the school board, focused on Malone's knowledge of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act. Malone served on the Shelby County Commission in the early 2000s. Malone said that during her meetings with Shelby County Schools board chair Joyce Dorse-Coleman and vice-chair Stephanie Love, they did not discuss the actions of the board but discussed communications strategy and talking points for the board. Feagins took the witness stand after a lunch recess and recounted much of the information in the initial and amended complaint. Feagins said she first found out about the possibility of her being fired in October 2024. She also heard of a lunch meeting between Dorse-Coleman, Love and now former MSCS board member Althea Greene in August. The meeting was discussing the possibility of firing Feagins, she claimed. During Feagins' testimony, Spence took aim at some of her claims, many of which were claims Feagins said she had heard from others, not directly witnessed herself. At one point, Spence asked Feagins what facts she had that there were violations of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act. Feagins suggested reading through parts of her affidavit. "Your affidavit has many paragraphs in it based on what other people, as you said, shared with you or told you...I wanna know, can you tell us today when did the board deliberate or make a determination that violated the sunshine law? What facts do you have that support that claim?" Spence said. Feagins said that "personal knowledge" is just like when someone is made aware of something and it becomes someone's "personal knowledge." Why is Marie Feagins suing the school board? In January 2025, the Memphis-Shelby County Schools Board voted 6-3 to fire Feagins from her role as superintendent. Board members said she had violated multiple clauses in her employment contract. Shortly after her firing, Feagins filed a lawsuit, alleging the board fired her after illegal meetings and violations of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act. She has since updated her lawsuit and added a defamation case against Murphy. In a court filing from June 23, Feagins had also asked for the judge to reinstate her as the superintendent of MSCS swiftly and throughout the future court proceedings. This is a developing story and will be updated. This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Marie Feagins-MSCS lawsuit: What the ex-superintendent said in court Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
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MSCS report: Schools need more than $1B in repairs
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Decades of deferred maintenance at more than 200 Memphis-Shelby County Schools total more than a billion dollars of major overhauls and replacements, reports from MSCS say. This comes after a top-to-bottom assessment by an outside consulting agency. The reports, thousands of pages of them, were just received by WREG on Tuesday. One of the buildings even listed to have major problems is MSCS district headquarters. Former Superintendent Dr. Marie Feagins first talked about this assessment back in October of 2024, saying the findings could lead to school closures and consolidations. The study was conducted by Bureau Veritas, an inspecting and consulting company. Woman claims she was fired after comments against school board member One of the schools is Oakshire Elementary School in Whitehaven, which was built in 1966. Roofing, sidewalks, suspended ceilings, flooring and ancillary buildings are all listed in poor condition, with recommendations to have items isted in poor condition replaced by this year. The report lists more than $9.7 million in improvements, from immediate to long-term, up to 20 years from now. Oakshire-Elementary-Memphis-TN-FCAFinal_RedactedDownload Oakshire is just one of the dozens of buildings the company looked at. Some schools needed more improvements, costing much more than others, and some needing the improvements much sooner too. White Station High School in East Memphis, with seven buildings developed in 1953, needs more than $42 million in immediate and long-term improvements, according to the report. White-Station-High-School-Memphis_-TN-FCA_RedactedDownload We've been asking Memphis Shelby County Schools about these findings for months. When we never received the documents, our team filed a 'Freedom of Information Act' Jan. 7. Months later, we received the thousands of pages. But the discussion of crumbling school infrastructure is nothing new. Every summer and winter we tell you about schools with broken heating and air conditioning systems. The question becomes, where will the tens of millions of dollars needed for improvements come from? Over the last few months MSCS has been embroiled in discussions about a possible state takeover. Lawmakers to revive bill after Memphis school audit findings Tennessee State Rep. G.A. Hardaway, who is against the state stepping in, talked recently about school building maintenance and the lack of a wider discussion. 'We would like to have help on funding the $1 billion of deferred maintenance that our children are having to endure in those raggedy schools every time they go to school. Now we've asked the state to help with that. They have been quiet on that,' Hardaway said. Tuesday night, the school board is meeting to discuss making these documents public, posting them online so you can take a look at the school in your neighborhood. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Memphis schools takeover imminent as bill is approved by TN legislature. What to know
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include that MSCS does not wish to comment on the legislation's passage. The state takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools is now imminent. Both the Tennessee Senate and House of Representatives passed legislation on April 22 that would force a state intervention into MSCS, in response to the controversial firing of ex-Superintendent Marie Feagins and poor academic performance for years. Up until April 22, the legislature had two competing bills on how much power a board of advisors would have over the locally elected school board. The legislation that ultimately passed was more similar to the Senate version of the bill, sponsored by Sen. Brent Taylor, a Republican from Eads representing parts of Shelby County and Memphis. "This is a decades-old problem, and the state and the county, they have tried for decades to try to figure out what to do about this school system in Shelby County that is routinely failing our students, despite spending $1.8 billion a year," Taylor said. "So we just need to quit passing this problem around more than a joint at a Willie Nelson concert, and finally decide that we're going to do something about our education system in Shelby County." MSCS had no comment on the legislation passing. State Rep. Mark White, a Republican from Memphis, called for state intervention into the largest school district in Tennessee in the immediate aftermath of the firing of Feagins. The legislation calls for the expansion of charter schools and the private school voucher program. "I do this from the bottom (of my heart) because I care greatly about our city. As a former principal and teacher, you develop a love for the young people and if they are not coming out of K-12 ready to hit the workforce, where they have the skills that they can perform in society, then it doesn't work for them, and the numbers are there for us," White said. The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate along party lines. Across the House and Senate, Democrats strongly opposed the takeover legislation, calling it possibly unconstitutional and questioning motivations. Republicans in the House said the legislation needs to happen because of the poor academic performance of MSCS in conjunction with the school board not acting enough on the academics. State Rep. Kevin Vaughan, a Republican from Collierville, said he changed his position on the takeover. Initially, he wanted to wait until the state audit findings came back from MSCS, but he said the state can't wait to take action. "Giving another year away while we wait, it's not going to change itself organically. That is not going to be the case," Vaughan said. "We're not going to suddenly see a 15-year trend turn on a year in one year's time without some type of catalyst that provides additional information and additional review of what the duly elected school board is doing." Some Senate Democrats called the Senate sponsor's language about Memphis inappropriate. Taylor said the city of Memphis is known for three things: good barbeque, high crime rates and a bad school system. Sen. London Lamar, a Democrat from Memphis, called the comments, along with Taylor's comparison of Memphis to athlete's foot, inappropriate, offensive and unacceptable. Lamar pointed out a contradiction in the bill by removing the income cap for the educational savings account for private school tuition, while the bill specifically targets school districts that mainly serve low-income students. "Why would we remove the income cap on these vouchers if it's supposed to be targeting those low, low economic disadvantaged areas? So it makes no sense that we're taking away the income cap," Lamar said. Lamar accompanied other Democrats in the Senate in voting against the bill. State Sen. Page Walley, a Republican from Savannah, said that because the bill has statewide implications, it could lend a hand to some of his district's smaller and impoverished districts. "I think this might be something that could be beneficial if we need it," Walley said. "I don't think we've met all the criteria yet, but if we do, I think that this might be something that could even help our elected school board members." Another Memphis Democrat, Sen. Raumesh Akbari, said the legislation creates more bureaucracy, less transparency and takes the power away from the people of Memphis. "I understand we need to do more to help our school systems, but it's not just a Memphis problem, it's a statewide problem, and this targeted legislation is not one that's going to improve what's going on," Akbari said. If a school district has 50% or more of students who are economically disadvantaged, 50% of students are not meeting grade level expectations in math and English and has at least one school identified as a priority school, the commissioner of education can recommend takeover. What comes next is the appointment of the board of advisors. The state-appointed advisory board will include: Three members appointed by the governor; Two members appointed by the speaker of the Senate; Two members appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives; The mayor of the county in which the district is located, or the county mayor's designee; and If applicable, the mayor of the city in which the school district is located, or the city mayor's designee. The commissioner of education will be able to recommend the removal of the superintendent, one or more elected school board members and converting public schools into charter schools. If an elected school board member is removed, the "local legislative body" will have appointing authority to fill the vacancy. The individual who fills the vacancy will hold the position until the next election. The board of advisors will be in place for at least four years, with the option for a two-year extension and will be compensated the same as elected school board members. The board of advisors, within 60 days of its appointment, will receive a list of underutilized properties from the district. From there, the board of advisors will come up with recommendations to turn the underutilized or vacant properties into public charter schools. Within the first 90 days, the board of advisors will complete a comprehensive needs assessment. The comprehensive needs assessment will look at a wide range of topics, from teacher retention to textbooks to school facilities. Based on the comprehensive needs assessment, the board of advisors will then present a transformation plan to the local school board. The transformation plan will act effectively as a road map to improve student outcomes, lower chronic absenteeism and improve early child literacy. The board of advisors, while their meetings will be closed to the public, will have their recommendations for each agenda item on the elected school board meetings read into the meeting minutes. The legislation removes the income requirement for the Education Savings Accounts, a pilot program that predated the Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarship Program. Students who apply and receive Education Savings Account dollars had to be eligible to receive free and reduced lunch based on income. Now, the income provision has been taken away if a student attends a MSCS school. The legislation will go into effect in the 2025-26 school year. Brooke Muckerman covers politics and education for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at 901-484-6225 and This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Tennessee legislature OKs Memphis-Shelby County Schools takeover bill
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senate postpones vote on MSCS takeover
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Senate has decided to postpone its vote on whether or not there should be a state takeover of the Memphis-Shelby County School Board till Tuesday. The original plan was for Tennessee lawmakers to debate whether or not the takeover was necessary on Monday. This all started a few months ago when Dr. Marie Feagins was ousted as Superintendent of the district. MSCS board members Michelle McKissack and Amber Huett-Garcia discuss potential state takeover While rumors of a state takeover have loomed for some time now, nothing has gotten as close as it is right now. Both Republican State Representative Mark White and State Senator Brent Taylor have introduced separate bills regarding the matter. 'Its is my concern the largest district in the state of 110,000 students that we are not performing as we should. There's a lot of bureaucracy in the system,' White said. If approved by lawmakers, it would create a state oversight board for Memphis-Shelby County Schools. During an interview with News 3 at 3, MSCS board Member Michelle McKissack expressed that no matter what happens, she wants what is best for Shelby County students. 'Children, that is the part of the equation that really hasn't been mentioned,' McKissack said. 'What is the impact this is going to have on our students? On our teachers? Potentially more upheaval in the district – I really hope something can be ironed out where it is amenable to everyone involved.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
MSCS state takeover bill up for debate Monday
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tennessee lawmakers will begin debates on Monday for a bill that would allow a state-appointed board to take over Memphis Shelby County Schools. The bill, also known as the Tennessee Public School Accountability Act, would authorize the Department of Education to appoint a board of managers, which would remain in place for four years. Today, there will be up to 25 minutes of debate for each side. The House session begins at 10 a.m., while the Senate floor session begins at 4 p.m. House bill for state control of MSCS advances The bill was written by Republican state Representative Mark White and filed for introduction back in February. This all comes following the firing of Dr. Marie Feagins as superintendent. And in January, the district faced a threat of a state takeover by Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton. 'I just think we need to right-size this. We've heard of complaints for too many years, and I think now, with the will of the majority of the communities behind us, that they want us to intervene,' said Rep. White. 'We deserve better than what we're getting': Lawmaker shares more about bill to take over MSCS Locally, the bill has faced opposition from MSCS board members, including Michelle McKissack, who initially opposed the firing of Dr. Feagins. 'This is too serious. We have the state making its assertions of how the board is in a state of dysfunction, so they feel they have to step in. I don't want to see our board lose its local control,' said McKissack. The House version of the bill passed the Finance, Ways, and Means Committee last week. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
