Marie Feagins, the controversial former schools superintendent, whose firing last year by the Memphis-Shelby County School Board has caused convulsions in both local and state politics, is continuing to produce aftershocks. The Shelby County Commission has voted to override County Mayor Lee Harris’ veto of the commission’s recent action to realign all nine school board seats for next year’s county ballot.

The realignment decision was heavily influenced by outrage in the community over the Feagins’ firing, and as is almost always the case in Memphis, there are racial undertones to the actions. School board members will see their four-year terms put on the line two years early if the realignment holds. But not so fast, my friends, as TriStar Daily has learned that lawsuits are imminent to challenge and delay the action.
The county commission’s realignment vote, which conformed to legislation passed in this year’s General Assembly enabling it, was essentially an outgrowth of the Feagins controversy. But because Memphis-Shelby County is a “home rule” entity, the proper process should arguably be a scheduled referendum approving the realignment rather than a legislatively-ordained removal of legitimately elected local officials. Federal court litigation may delay any such referendum until after 2030, keeping the current school board members in place rather than being forced to run and win an election before then.
Much of the support for Feagins that was generated after her firing came from within the Memphis African-American community. But she also received support from white conservatives who approved of Feagin’s conservative budget approach and of her reassigning school administrators to classroom teaching to reduce bureaucratic bloat. That Republican support for Feagins led to the GOP legislative majority in the General Assembly’s attempt at board realignment, which is certain to be challenged in federal court soon.

Despite the chaos surrounding her service, don’t expect a Feagin’s farewell anytime soon. But Feagins could affect the upcoming Shelby County mayor’s race. She has been asking well-known political donors for support in a mayoral race of her own. Memphis political insiders say it is unlikely she will run, and even more doubtful that she could win.

Even more interesting is the connection between Feagins and another highly controversial school superintendent who has been in the news recently.

Ian Roberts is the former superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, who is now facing federal charges for being an “illegal alien in possession of firearms” and for falsely claiming U.S. citizenship on a federal form. He was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after a 2024 removal order and an extensive criminal history came to light, leading to his resignation and the revocation of his professional teaching license. It was also discovered that he falsely claimed to hold a doctoral degree from Morgan State University, a factor in his hiring by the school system. The failure of the search firms who “vetted” Roberts is now resulting in lawsuits against those firms. 

Although the search firm involved in hiring Feagins is not connected to those involved in vetting Ian Roberts, some in Memphis feel that Feagins’ record in Detroit was not fully explored before her hiring. 
Education search firms nationwide can expect to face much more scrutiny themselves in light of these controversial superintendent hirings.

Steve Gill is Editor and Publisher of TriStar Daily.