Board picks Dr. Marie Feagins to lead Memphis-Shelby County Schools

Dr. Marie Feagins (Photo by Memphis-Shelby County Schools)

The more than yearlong search for a new leader of the state’s largest school district is officially over. Members of the Memphis-Shelby County School Board unanimously picked Detroit Public Schools Chief of Leadership and High School Dr. Marie Feagins to be the district’s next superintendent Friday afternoon.

Six board members initially provided the necessary three-fourths majority to approve Feagins, but the remaining three members chose to change their vote to ensure the final tally is unanimous.

“I think it looks good for the board to be unanimous in our decision,” said Board Chair Althea Greene before giving members the option to change their vote.

The board picked Dr. Feagins over the two other finalists, Atlanta Public Schools Chief Academic Officer Yolanda C. Brown and Portland Public Schools Deputy Superintendent of Instruction and School Communities Cheryl Proctor. The board initially interviewed five semifinalists and narrowed those down to three in December.

Board member Michelle Robinson McKissack nominated Feagins from three finalists saying she displayed the important qualities the district needs in a new leader.

“I’m looking for a visionary changemaker. Someone who is bold. Someone who is confident to step into that role,” said McKissack. “She did have a very thorough dossier that she presented, looking at years of data of how to move our district forward.  So much so that one of the reporters asked me, did we provide her with that information. I said no we didn’t. She sourced that all on her own.”

The board’s decision came following a lengthy public comment and information session where the board shared results of how the public, educators, and board members themselves viewed the three candidates following the initial rounds of interviews and public meetings.

Those surveys showed Feagins was the candidate most board members and teachers who took part thought was ready and fit to lead the district but the least popular among members of the community.Doctor Proctor had the highest evaluation results from the community but the lowest from board members and teachers.Yolanda Brown received two votes from board members in both rounds of voting while Proctor received one vote in the initial round.

Graphic by Memphis-Shelby County Schools

Search Process Questioned

The vote itself faced questions before the process began.

State Representative Mark White (Photo by Tennessee General Assembly)

Multiple members of the Shelby County Commission asked the board to hold off voting on a new superintendent and Board Chair Green said State Representative Mark White, R-Memphis, threatened legislative action if members didn't postpone the vote.  White chairs the influential House Education Administration Committee.

“Representative White expressed his disappointment in our selection process and threatened to add six state appointed board members to this body,” said Greene. “While we are interested in hearing from state legislators and other elected and business leaders, the time for critical input and action has passed. It would be irresponsible of us to halt the process for any reason other than the candidate pool shrinking due to a flawed process or some other unforeseen.”

The district has been without a permanent superintendent since the resignation of Joris Ray in July 2022, following allegations of abuse of power and policy violations. The search process has been turbulent and members temporarily paused it last year to reorganize the effort. That process led to former Board Vice-Chair Sheleah Harris stepping down over a disagreement on the position qualifications.

Throughout the process, Tutonial “Toni” Williams has served as interim superintendent and was a finalist for the job last year before announcing she would not seek the position permanently in June.

Multiple members of the public continued to express support for Williams to stay on the job during Friday's meeting.

“I strongly encourage you to consider keeping our present interim superintendent in order to maintain the momentum and academic success we have experienced over the past two years,” said Memphis resident Karen Simmons. “I am asking that we acknowledge that our interim superintendent has the strongest personal portfolio of work.”

Dr. Marie Feagins interviewing before the school board (Screengrab)

Dr. Feagins is scheduled to officially begin her tenure as superintendent after the close of the 2023/24 school year.

During her interview process she described her leadership style as one that focuses on conversation.

Dr. Feagins is a native of Alabama and says she grew up living in public housing and benefitted from the Head Start program. She highlighted her work helping improve SAT scores with Detroit Public Schools growth along with increasing the graduation rate by more than 6 percent for the first time in nearly a decade.

"Memphis, it is an honor to be named your next Superintendent of Memphis-Shelby County Schools. I am deeply grateful to the School Board, educators, and the community for placing their trust in me to lead our District forward. I am committed to doing whatever it takes to move us from good to phenomenal because that is what OUR city and county deserve. Together, we will defy the odds and become a national model of bold, transformational education," said Dr. Feagins following the vote.

Updated with a quote from Dr. Feagins.