Correction: This article has been updated to remove references to two people whose names were included in error and are not mentioned in an amended lawsuit filed by Marie N. Feagins, who was fired by the Memphis Shelby County School Board. Sheleah Harris was not a member of the board during the time in question, and her name is not mentioned in the lawsuit. Michelle Robinson McKissack is not the boardโs vice chair, and her name is not mentioned in the lawsuit.
Former Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dr. Marie Feagins has filed an amended lawsuit accusing the Shelby County Board of Education and Board Member Towanna Murphy of orchestrating her termination through secret meetings, political retaliation and defamatory public statements.
The 40-page complaint, filed May 30 in Shelby County Circuit Court, expands significantly on the original wrongful termination filing and alleges violations of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act and the Tennessee Educators Protection Act, breach of contract, defamation and false light invasion of privacy.
At the heart of the amended filing is a claim that Feaginsโ ouster was not about performance, but political retaliation, specifically tied to her refusal to quietly renew a $4 million contract with a politically connected nonprofit tutoring program โ Peer Power Foundation.
Feagins claims she became a target after rejecting pressure to bypass an open bidding process for the Peer Power contract, which was set to expire in June 2024.
One day after filing a police report and seeking an order of protection against Peer Power co-chair Charles โDowโ McVean Jr. claiming he verbally harassed her, Feagins states in the amendment that she received a profane phone call from Memphis City Council Chairman JB Smiley Jr.
Smiley is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, but his alleged comments, along with an email from a top Shelby County government official urging the renewal of Peer Powerโs contract, are cited as evidence of political interference.
The lawsuit also alleges that several MSCS Board members began meeting privately as early as August 2024 to build consensus around terminating Feagins. Such meetings, the suit argues, violate state laws requiring public deliberation of official board business.
Feagins says her termination was decided behind closed doors long before the board voted publicly in December to end her contract.
The complaint further alleges that MSCS Board members used taxpayer funds to hire two public relations firms โ The Carter Malone Group and Hiltzik Strategies of New York City โ to craft messaging around her removal. Invoices show the firms provided โcrisis strategyโ and โcommunications planningโ in the weeks before the termination vote.
The Carter Malone Groupโs contract with MSCS, which began in Nov. 2024, was concluded on May 31. Deidre Malone, of The Carter Malone Group, said her firmโs contract was for general communications.
Murphy is named individually as a co-defendant in the amendment. She is accused of spreading false and defamatory rumors about Feagins in the community, including claims involving a stolen vehicle and false statements that Feagins had โlied to the board.โ The suit calls Murphyโs behavior โmalicious and recklessโ and says it caused serious reputational damage.
Feaginsโ original contract, signed in April 2024, was for a four-year term with a $325,000 annual salary. She is seeking either reinstatement or financial damages totaling at least $487,500 โ plus benefits and legal fees.
