Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins is expected to give a formal response this evening to allegations of misconduct as the school board gets set to decide whether her contract should be terminated. ¶
The pending statement comes just after the school board voted 5-4 last month to postpone a vote until Jan. 14 to decide whether to oust Feagins after less than a year with the board. Board members said they were considering firing the former Detroit Public Schools leader for allegations of “professional misconduct.” Among the allegations in the resolution put forth by MSCS Board of Education Chair Joyce Dorse-Coleman, Feagins has been accused of failing to communicate important decisions with the board, such as a personnel plan earlier this year that aimed to cut and restructure over 1,000 positions, and misleading the public about overtime wages in the district. ¶
Parents and community members have urged the board to vote against her termination ever since the resolution was introduced, during a recent press conference hosted by the parent advocacy group Memphis Lift and at board meetings. Feagins has also previously called the allegations “baseless” and “meritless.”¶
Employment lawyer and Crone Law Firm CEO Alan Crone, who is representing Feagins in the ongoing battle, posted an interview with WREG on his firm’s website where he called the allegations against his client weak. He said Feagins was surprised by the “mischaracterizations” of her conduct and performance leading the board.¶
“She is continuing to work hard for the students, faculty, staff, parents, and teachers of the Memphis-Shelby County Schools system,” he said, adding that he thinks Feagins is “doing remarkably well” as superintendent.¶
