MSCS board hired second PR firm for ‘crisis communications’ amid superintendent ouster
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – FOX13 has uncovered new details about the money the Memphis-Shelby County School Board spent as it worked to get rid of Superintendent Dr. Marie Feagins.
Last month FOX13 told you the district had spent about $43,000 over about two months for a Memphis PR firm. Now FOX13 Investigates has found the district spent tens of thousands more of your dollars on a second PR consultant based in the Big Apple.
While working on our previous story about the board’s spending with The Carter Malone Group, FOX13 Investigates noticed entries on an invoice that appeared to be a company called Hiltzik Strategies in New York City. So FOX13 filed a public records request for any contracts, invoices, or receipts with Hiltzik.
Today we got an answer on that request. It includes a contract with Hiltzik that School Board Chair Joyce Dorse Coleman signed on Jan. 9. The contract said the firm was retained “as strategic communications counsel to assist with messaging, media relations, strategic counsel, and other public relations activities for” the board. The board had hired The Carter Malone Group to do similar work in November.
The contract and an invoice show the district agreed to pay Hiltzik $25,000 for work from Jan. 9 to Feb. 14. That’s an average of nearly $700 per day. Documents from The Carter Malone Group show CMG billed the school board for 14 meetings and calls with Hiltzik between Jan. 6 and Jan. 24. Those meetings cost taxpayers another $1,740. FOX13 has not yet received a billing record it requested from February for CMG’s work with the board.
FOX13 Investigates sent a series of questions to the board and CMG about the Hiltzik contract, including why the board needed a second PR firm, if all board members were aware of the contract, what work Hiltzik performed, and whether the board believes in hindsight that the contract was a good use of taxpayer money.
FOX13 received the following statement from Dorse Coleman:
“As early as September 2024, several members of the Shelby County Board of Education and local media partners began expressing concerns about access to and communications from the internal communications department at MSCS. During that time, though the previous administration had assigned staff to assist with Board communications, there was significant turnover and reduction in staffing in the communications department, and the prior superintendent had greatly limited media and Board access to the communications department. Lacking significant internal support, the decision was made to engage the professional services of an external communications firm to assist the Board with routine external communications to prioritize transparency and provide more community and media access to the Board.
“After contacting several firms, the Board hired The Carter Malone Group, LLC (CMG) in November 2024 to manage general communications (public relations, marketing, social media management, community outreach, etc.). At the time of the initial engagement, there had been no discussion with CMG regarding any employment decisions related to the previous superintendent.
“After the December 17, 2024, board meeting, the Board decided to hire an outside public relations firm to assist with crisis communications. They felt strongly that an agency from another city would offer an outside perspective. Also, because the principal of CMG, Deidre Malone, had been implicated by the previous superintendent of being complicit in the decision to terminate her employment, the Board felt that it was necessary to seek external guidance that was not alleged to be directly involved in the crisis situation.
“All Board Members knew that an outside agency would be hired. The Board retained Hiltzik Strategies to work with the Board in messaging specific to the decision to terminate the previous superintendent’s employment, given Hiltzik’s experience working with school systems on crisis communications.
“Hiltzik Strategies, which has worked with several clients in Tennessee, was referred to provide an independent perspective and strategic counsel based on their expertise and experience in education, labor relations and legal and public affairs.
“The Hiltzik team worked closely with The Carter Malone Group in navigating a very difficult, public and complex employment action related to the former superintendent. The financial investment was a necessary expense, largely attributable to a void in internal support created by the former superintendent, as it is always our intent as a Board to provide timely, transparent information to the public.”
FOX13 Investigates also reached out to Hiltzik Strategies about its work for the school board. We have not heard back.
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