Superintendent for Memphis schools addresses possible job changes, federal funding cliff

When Marie Feagins, Ed.D., was a candidate for the superintendent post at Memphis-Shelby County Schools, she believed the district’s personnel chart should be adjusted. During her final interview with the MSCS board, she asserted that top portions of the district’s front office were “pretty bloated,” and that “some shifts have to take place, in order to make the work move as we need it to move.”

“I’m just thinking about how we redeploy some of the work, closer to our schools, and how we better organize that,” she said at the time, “so we can be about the work of providing the level of excellence that every space should have.”

After landing the job, her sentiments haven’t changed.

Starting at the top

On Tuesday, Feagins ― who started as superintendent on April 1 ― sat down with members of the media, and discussed, among other things, personnel at the district, which has about 14,000 employees.

“I know there's a lot of questions about moves and personnel, and what will that look like,” she said. “I was very public in my interview in sharing that it appears to be bloated. So, we recognize that there are some shifts that will take place. Some of those conversations have taken place already with senior leaders about what that could look like.”

When Feagins talks about “bloating,” she starts at the top ― specifically, her own office.

“There’s an assistant for this and an assistant for that. It’s really about determining what I need to be efficient,” she said. “I’m a pretty effective person on my own. So, it’s having, just, two to three sharp people who can really do the work.”

From there, Feagins explained, she looks closely at each administrative area, going “department by department,” and moving “deep into the layers.”

“I have asked the questions, ‘But what, what does this person do? And what do these people do?'” she said. “I really want to understand the duties of the role.”

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She wants the district to streamline its organizational chart if there turns out to be duplication and overlap. But it’s important, she noted, to be thoughtful about how and where adjustments are made while keeping the mission of effectively serving students and families the top priority. She doesn’t intend to blithely eliminate jobs.

“Certainly, before we land on a decision, we're talking about impacting the lives and homes of real people,” Feagins said. “It is not just, ‘Let's just cut to get to a certain number.' It's being very strategic about, if there are cuts, where those would land.”

And no cuts, she explained, would be made to programs for students.

“I am a firm believer in the arts and JROTC and the humanities and all the things that kids need and deserve to have access to, even as we think about providing and expanding access to world languages so that every child can become a multilingual individual,” she said. “So, definitely not thinking about cutting programs as it concerns schools. This is more about areas where we are duplicating our efforts in terms of work and titles and capacities in terms of personnel. This is more so about areas where ESSER funding contributed a lot to many of the [district’s] strategies, which required and called for additional individuals.”

ESSER

As Feagins noted, the talk of personnel adjustments stems, in part, from ESSER, the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. Funding from the program is nearing its end, which means that MSCS and school districts around the country are facing a potential funding cliff.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government distributed billions of dollars to school districts nationwide through ESSER. MSCS received about $776 million over three phases.

Some of the money was spent on one-time expenses, like the $176 million used for building improvements and construction.

But sizable chunks of it were used for staffing, which comes with annual costs. For example, MSCS used ESSER funds to bring on 750 special education assistants for K-2 classrooms, to improve student-teacher ratios.

And with ESSER funds now about to end, the district is working to avoid a potential deficit. During a retreat in November, board members discussed a potential budget gap of $150 million in FY 2025, and the significant realignment that could bridge it.

Since then, discussions on how to address the issue have continued, but aren't final, Feagins said.

“The team has provided some recommendations. So, I'll take a look at that, what that new org structure could look like. And certainly, in a more nuanced fashion, what those specific positions would entail," she said.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: MSCS Superintendent Marie Feagins on job cuts, federal funding cliff