Superintendents in major metropolitan school districts have faced firing in the last few months, and Memphis is no different.
On December 16, the Memphis-Shelby County School Board called a meeting to discuss terminating the contract of Superintendent Dr. Marie Feagins, who has only been on the job for eight months. Some board members said they intended to fire Feagins on the basis on multiple contract violations, including allegedly the fumbling of grant dollars for homeless students.
The board meeting a day later included hours of public comment from the community, calling on board members whose to rethink their decision to dismiss Feagins or face recall. Public comment continued when the meeting began discussing the contract termination, with community members interjecting comments and boos throughout. Some cheered on Feagins when she spoke and yelled at board members who were explaining their intent to vote to fire her.
The comments provided evidence of Feagins’ strong support base within the community and among teachers. Some supporters turned the tables on board members at the meeting and started calling out the elected officials by name and the number of votes it would take to recall their seats.