MSCS board approves contract for Superintendent Marie Feagins. Here's how much she'll make

Less than a week before her anticipated start date, Marie Feagins, Ed.D., has taken the final step towards becoming the next superintendent of Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

During a meeting on Tuesday evening, the MSCS board voted unanimously to approve Feagins’ official contract. The agreement was facilitated by local attorney Herman Morris, who has worked with the district on contract negotiations in recent years, and he presented Feagins' contract to the board at the meeting.

Per the agreement, she’ll be paid an annual base salary of $325,000, which is slightly above the salaries of her predecessors. Toni Williams, who has been the interim superintendent for the past year-and-a-half, had a $310,000 salary. And at the time of his resignation in August 2022, Joris Ray was paid $310,124 annually. Ray, who left amid scandal, also received a severance package worth about $480,000.

The four-year contract is set to begin in April and be terminated in March 2028, and at the meeting Tuesday, board members spoke both the length of the agreement and Feagins' salary.

"I know that four years may sound like it’s long, but it’s not," said board member Michelle McKissack. "Just having been in the second term as a school board commissioner, it took me four years to fully get my feet wet. I was encouraged by her commitment to say, 'I want to be here for four years; I’m not just going to stop, drop, and run.'"

Added board member Mauricio Calvo on her salary:

"Oftentimes, the figures catch the public’s opinion… I want to be clear, even though this is a public official, this person is going to be managing 14,000 employees, and $2 billion a year... I know money is important for everybody, and this body is taking that very seriously. We want to make sure that all of our employees have fair wages, and we’re committed to keep working on that."

Board member Kevin Woods also noted during the meeting that the contract removes language from previous superintendent contracts that provides superintendents with raises when teachers get raises. Feagins won't be guaranteed a salary increase when one is awarded to teachers.

Feagins is set to start as superintendent on April 1, but already, she’s spent nearly a month working for the district as a consultant, to help smoothen the leadership transition. Her consulting contract runs from March 1 to March 29, and in the role, she’s been meeting with district staffers and community leaders, while working with board members to develop strategic priorities.

More: Marie Feagins will become MSCS superintendent April 1. Here's what she's doing until then

As a consultant, she’s being paid $1,000 per day, for each day worked ― but the total amount she can make in the position is $20,000.

The end of Toni Williams' tenure

Before approving Feagins’ contract, the board terminated the contract of Williams, bringing her tenure as interim superintendent to a close. She’s now set to serve as a consultant for MSCS. Her interim superintendent contract said that she could either return to her role as CFO, which she held prior to being elevated to the top post, or become a consultant, and she chose the latter. Williams was tapped to be interim superintendent in August 2022, after Ray’s departure.

At the time, she said had no interest in being the district’s long-term leader ― which was, in part, why she was awarded the temporary position. But in late March 2023, she revealed she had applied for the permanent post, and in mid-April 2023, she was named one of three finalists for the job.

In late June, however, she withdrew her name from consideration, with her contract extension for the interim post only approved on the condition that she was no longer a candidate for the permanent job.

During her time as interim superintendent, MSCS has received high scores on the state’s academic growth evaluation, and the district’s graduation rate and standardized test scores have increased slightly. She has pushed for a comprehensive infrastructure plan ― which is expected to address $500 million in deferred maintenance ― and helped lay the groundwork for how the district could address a potential $150 million budget gap amid an end of federal COVID relief funds.

She has also helped the district receive more than $100 million in funds for facility construction and improvements, overseen a $27.3 million investment in teacher compensation, launched a scholarship for MSCS students with sickle cell disease, and received high marks from the board for her performance. In August, five school board members completed evaluations of Williams, and she scored a 4.7 out of 5 ― which meant she “completely met expectations.”

Feagins' background

Feagins was selected to be the next superintendent of MSCS on Feb. 9. Most recently, she was the Chief of Leadership and High Schools, executive director of high school transformation, and special assistant to the superintendent for the Detroit Public Schools Community District, where she's helped grow the four-year graduation rate. In 2021, it was 64.5%, and most recently, it was 74.26%.

Feagins spent much of her career in Alabama, and from 2006 to 2012 she was a teacher and head coach with Jefferson County Schools. In 2013, she became a senior counselor and building testing coordinator with the district, and in 2016, she was named an assistant principal and building safety coordinator with Huntsville City Schools. In 2017, she joined Cleveland Metro Schools in Ohio, where she worked as an assistant principal and interim principal. In 2021, Feagins stepped into her role in Detroit’s school district, which has about 51,000 students.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: MSCS new Superintendent Marie Feagins: what to know about pay, contract