Shelby County Commissioners will be seeking the services of a skilled accountant after they unanimously agreed to begin a forensic audit of the Memphis-Shelby County Schools Board of Education during a Budget & Finance Committee meeting Wednesday, Feb. 5.
An amendment was approved 6–3 to add the possibility of requests for audits of school districts in other municipalities that receive commission funding.
Members are expected to vote on the matter during the next full commission meeting scheduled for Monday, Feb. 10.
The resolution initiating a request for qualifications, or RFQ, of a certified public accountant appears to be blowback for the school board’s 6–3 decision to fire former Superintendent Marie Feagins.
“You go from a class act that was doing what everybody saw that needed to be done. Upset the apple cart tremendously. Got fired. Now, we’ve got to look into this. There’s no way to ignore it. I’ve said before…’the legislative body hasn’t really been a legislative body’…we’ve got to do that,” said Amber Mills, one of four resolution sponsors.
The comment appeared to contradict the opening statement of the co-sponsor, who claimed the resolution was a long time coming.
“Before the narrative begins as if this is something that was triggered because of what transpired a few weeks ago, if you go back and look at the records in February 2020, there was an initial attempt for a special audit made by myself due to questionable practices and lack of accountability on maintenance of effort funding for Memphis-Shelby County Schools,” said Edmond Ford Jr., another co-sponsor of the current resolution.
The commissioner withdrew the audit attempt after MSCS “pledged” more “reporting and transparency.”
“We are now at a different place with this school system, and it is time to revisit what should have transpired five years ago,” said Ford. “Moreover, this forensic audit process should be relevant and independent to acquire unbiased findings.”
Other problems were cited for the audit beyond the firing. They included ongoing HVAC failures that have left students to chill in the winter cold and swelter in the summer, along with outdated IT that has left commission members without sought-after information. The scope could be expanded to “any federal funding that has gone to MSCS schools.”
Ford also compared the intentions of the resolution to the current forensic audit underway at MATA. The scrutiny is part of an overall restructuring of the debt-ridden transit authority.
Another member expressed the importance of “not personalizing these issues.” A “clean audit” covering the “past five years” and “exemplar reporting and federal monitoring for all federal programs,” were also cited before other municipalities were added to the resolution to ensure “unbiased findings.”
However, the amended resolution requests an audit of the other municipal school districts. They would need to agree to the outside scrutiny. They would also have to pay the costs. State law only allows Shelby County Commissioners to demand an audit of MSCS. Audits of school districts in Germantown, Cordova and Millington can only come in the form of a request.
Language was added at the request of Chairman Michael Whaley to add a resolve clause that directs Shelby County’s chief administrator “to make a request of the municipal school districts to perform an audit and leave it at that.”
The intention is to keep the RFQ process rolling on the MSCS audit.
“If we were to do it all in one, we’d have to wait on responses and figure out a cost. The auditor, we wouldn’t be able to engage with them on a contract, because we wouldn’t know the cost and scope of the contract,” said Whaley.
Avant accepted Whaley’s motion.
Ford, however, objected to Avant’s poison pill amendment. Instead, he proposed a separate resolution for the other school systems.
“What I said a few minutes ago, I am not flipping the script or anything like that. Let’s keep it separate. If there’s an add-on that says ‘request’ that each municipal school district perform one on themselves for the purposes of this whole exercise,” said Ford. “I have no issue supporting that item.”
In the end, commissioners agreed to Avant’s amendment 6–3, Whaley edits and all. Voting in favor were Charlie Caswell, Mick Wright, Britney Thornton, Mickell Lowery, Whaley and Avant. Erika Sugarmon, Mills and Ford voted no. Sugarmon is a co-sponsor, too.
The resolution requests $50,000 to pay for the audit from the commission’s contingency fund. Still, the cost could grow if more scrutiny becomes necessary. Mills called the figure “a start.”
“If we find something and the comptroller steps in, then we don’t have to do anymore,” replied Mills.
Avant wondered how the dollar figure came about.
“If we don’t know the cost for an audit, why would we put a specific amount? Because it doesn’t say beginning or starting,” pressed Avant. “As a sponsor, how did you get to the $50,000 number?”
Mills failed to provide an answer.
Feagins was fired with cause by the Memphis-Shelby County School Board of Directors in a 6–3 vote Jan. 21. The resolution of dismissal cited several instances of mismanagement. It also noted the former superintendent violated “board policy and state law” when she presented a MSCS budget to the Memphis City Council and the Shelby County Commission.
There were also allegations from MSCS staff members that Feagins created a “hostile workplace.”
A third-party investigation into the termination resolution conducted by attorney Robert Spence found that Feagins violated board policies and the terms of her contract.
A special-called meeting to begin the process was held Dec. 17. Feagins first day on the job was April 1, 2024. She spent less than 10 months as superintendent.
Feagins filed a lawsuit at the Shelby County Circuit Court Feb. 3, alleging school board members violated an open meetings law in the run-up to her dismissal. The suit accuses various board members of months of behind-the-scenes scheming to end her tenure. All nine members of the elected body are named in the lawsuit.
