Lawsuit alleges secret school board meetings led to Superintendent Feagins’ ouster

School board members Stephanie Love (top), Towanna Murphy (upper right), Joyce Dorse-Coleman (lower right), Michelle MicKissack (bottom), Sable Otey (lower left), Natalie McKinney (upper left), and former Superintendent Dr. Marie Feagins (center) (Photos by Memphis-Shelby County Schools)

Attorneys for former Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dr. Marie Feagins have filed a Circuit Court complaint against the district’s school board, asking that their decision to terminate her contract be thrown out.

The board voted 6 to 3 last month to oust Feagins from the job on allegations of accepting donations without board approval, mismanaging district funds, and misleading the public about overtime wages.

According to a copy of the complaint shared with Memphis media, the plot to remove Feagins actually traces back to a luncheon confrontation with the co-chair of a non-profit tutoring and mentoring program last August, just four months into her tenure.

According to the lawsuit, the school district spent $13 million over nearly five years with the Peer Power Foundation. That contract, valued at more than $4 million, expired in June 2024 and district attorneys advised Feagins that mentoring and tutoring services must be opened to a request for proposal (RFP) to allow other venders an opportunity to submit proposals.

The lawsuit claims Peer Power Foundation co-chair Charles “Dow” McVean confronted Feagins about the contract following a luncheon and became confrontational when she said she’d connect with her team on it.

“I am angry! … this is some bulls***! … I am f***ing frustrated,” said McVean according to the lawsuit.

Feagins reported McVean’s behavior to the Memphis Police Department and filed a petition for an order of protection. The lawsuit claims Feagins received an angry phone call from Memphis City Council Chair JB Smiley, Jr. the day she filed the order.

“Don’t you ever file a f***ing police report in this city again without telling me first… You don’t know these people… My funders are on me now telling me she has to go because they know I supported you… they are telling me to get rid of you,” said Smiley according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims the following month school board member Towanna Murphy contacted Feagins about the expired Peer Power contract, emphasizing that “Peer Power is huge in this city,” and demanded she fix the relationship. 

Following that discussion, the lawsuit alleges Murphy began participating in a series of private meetings on Feagin’s future with other school board members who later voted to terminate her contract, including Joyce Dorse Coleman, Stephanie Love, Sable Otey, and Natalie McKinney. Feagins’ attorneys claim the meetings, held between August 2024 through January 21, 2025, violate Tennessee’s Open Meetings Law. The suit also alleges the school board didn’t provide the public with enough notice before the initial hearing about terminating Feagins in December.

“Despite the resounding approval of Dr. Feagins, growing momentum for the school district and unrefuted positive results, on December 16, 2024, in blatant disregard for the notice period required by Tennessee law, the School Board issued notice of a special meeting on December 17, 2024 (less than 24 hours) to discuss the termination of Dr. Feagins’ employment,” wrote Feagins’ attorney in the suit. “Only the five School Board members who initially favored terminating Dr. Feagins were aware that the December 17, 2024 special meeting would be called and had knowledge of the specific content of the resolution to terminate.” 

Board member McKissack told Memphis media on Tuesday that she was shocked by the lawsuit and says she was not a part of any closed-door meetings. 

"I was very shocked of what I read, and I wanted to make it very clear that I did not participate in any meetings that may have taken place in secret, behind closed doors, off campus," said McKissack to the Memphis Commercial Appeal. "Anything that I have had to say since this whole process began over six weeks ago, I said it publicly to the public." 

The lawsuit comes as state lawmakers, including House Education Chair Representative Mark White, R-Memphis, are considering state intervention in Memphis-Shelby County Schools in part because of Feagins’ termination.