This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.
Former Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins is suing a board member for personal defamation in an ongoing lawsuit over her January firing after less than 10 months on the job.
Feagins testified on Tuesday in Shelby County Circuit Court, where Judge Robert Childers considered Feagins’ request for a preliminary injunction, which would overturn the board vote to terminate her contract and reinstate her as district leader as the lawsuit plays out.
“I came here to do a job, and we have unfinished business,” Feagins said on the stand. “I didn’t come to sue the school district.”
At issue, Feagins alleged during a seven-hour hearing Tuesday, was multiple instances of board members meeting secretly to orchestrate her ouster, which she says violates the Tennessee Open Meetings Act. But the defendants’ lawyer argued that board members can privately discuss the superintendent’s job performance without running afoul of state law.