Now, see, from the looks of it, this whole scene about the Shelby County Schools Superintendent Lawsuit may seem like a small thing and nothing really special, like just another conflict, but nah! It’s something serious and as a citizen of the USA, you must pay attention to it, but why, like what happened? So, first of all, let’s backtrack things a bit, you see, back in 2024, Dr. Marie Feagins was hired as the superintendent of Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS). As the new superintendent, she was supposed to bring positive and good changes to the school district, but she was only able to serve just 10 months. Why? Oh, well, she was suddenly fired by the school board this year in January 2025. The board voted and then proceeded to remove her, which in her words is “illegal” and “unfair.”
Well, as per the claim of the school board, she was fired because of some serious reasons like she had mismanaged funds, misled them about a federal grant, and accepted money without approval. And the worst thing is that they let her go empty-handed like they avoided paying her $487,500 in severance.
So sure enough, this is where this Shelby County Schools Superintendent Lawsuit came into action, where Dr. Marie Feagins sued the school board, and the main claim or allegation of hers is that the school board violated the Tennessee Open Meetings Act by secretly discussing her removal long before the official vote.
The Secret Meetings and Why They Matter
Dr. Marie Feagins says that the school board actually conducted some meetings about her behind closed doors, and that’s illegal. Adding to the controversy, Feagins says that before she was fired, interim superintendent Roderick Richmond had already met with board members in November 2024 to discuss taking her job, so yes, with this detail, it sounds like a conspiracy against her.
The Explosive Confrontation with a Business Leader
Then came Charles “Dow” McVean into the picture, and if you don’t know yet, he’s actually a business person as well as a school board member. A clash broke out between him and Dr. Marie Feagins when McVean found out that she didn’t renew a contract that was about tutoring services. Though, Dr. Marie Feagins actually took legal action against him and later we saw McVean even apologizing.
A Memphis City Councilman Gets Dragged In
Who got dragged in? Well, things got even more chaotic when Feagins got a phone call (not a good one) from Memphis City Councilman JB Smiley Jr.. And? He said to be claimed in the phone call that it was actually “his funders” who wanted her gone. Though, right now, Smiley denies everything.
How the School Board Responded So Far?
Well, of course, so far we have seen that the school board has denied literally everything, and they say that they’re not the ones in the wrong here. Like, as per the details that are already out, Board Chair Joyce Dorse-Coleman insists that everything was done legally and fairly.
And you can clearly see that there is something to this story, right? Like, maybe, Dr. Marie Feagins is right and some powerful people are abusing their power, or it could be that it is just a hoax. We don’t know that yet, but you can make up your own conclusion based on the details, though the lawsuit is still ongoing, so let’s wait and see what happens next