MSCS received homeless student grant funds at center of former superintendent’s firing
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – It’s been exactly three months since the Memphis-Shelby County School Board voted to terminate former Superintendent Dr. Marie Feagins on accusations of grant mismanagement, among other claims.
Board members listed her alleged squandering of a chunk of funds for homeless students and families as one of the reasons for her termination.
After months of speculation, the Tennessee Department of Education and school district confirmed to Action News 5 that MSCS was awarded about $300,000 in funds last year.
A school district spokesperson says they received these funds as part of a carryover for the grant last year.
Through a public records request to the Tennessee Department of Education, Action News 5 obtained communication between TDOE and MSCS staff discussing the grant.
In January, board members accused Feagins of missing the grant’s deadline and having incomplete paperwork, which they say resulted in the district having to return grant money.
Email communication obtained by Action News 5 shows district staff asked for a deadline extension in April 2024 and asked to submit final revisions to their application in September 2024.
State grant applications were due September 30, 2024, and the district missed the initial deadline.
On December 3, more than a month before Feagins was fired, the president and CEO of the nonprofit SchoolSeed Foundation shared his concerns about not receiving the funds yet.
He said he was notified by the district they were awarded these funds in September.
“This is money that comes from the state and it is my understanding from the state now that the district will have to forfeit that money, $304,000,” said SchoolSeed President and CEO Vince McCaskill.
According to Action News 5’s FOIA request, the district’s chief legal counsel reached out to the state two days after the December 3 meeting to inquire about grant funding.
According to an October presentation about the grant, district staff expected to be approved for late use of these funds for emergency shelter, transportation, food and other support.
The application was submitted on Christmas Eve after the district’s operations superintendent contacted the state and asked them to allow the district to submit an application to keep the funding, according to the board chair Joyce Dorse Coleman.
She also says Feagins was “dishonest” about the availability of these funds and adds during the restructuring of the district’s central office, Feagins disbanded the grants compliance department.
You can read her full statement below:
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