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MSCS has proposed 1.1K job cuts. Will impacted employees get severance packages?

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MSCS has proposed 1.1K job cuts. Will impacted employees get severance packages?

Memphis-Shelby County Schools superintendent Marie Feagins has proposed cutting about 1,100 positions, which would result in about $68 million in savings for the district, she said. About 41% of these jobs are vacant, but that still leaves hundreds of employees whose positions could be eliminated, which begs the question:

Will these impacted staffers receive severance packages?

During a check-in with media members on Tuesday, Feagins addressed the issue.

A severance equivalent?

During a budget community engagement meeting on June 13, Feagins said that affected employees will not be offered severance packages. On June 18, however, she said that what the district is offering is “comparable.”

Employees whose positions could be cut, she explained, are expected to continue receiving pay after their last day of work. Their final day on the job is slated to be June 30, but they’ll continue to be paid through Aug. 16, and receive benefits through Aug. 31.

During the budget community engagement meeting, Feagins noted that the district had made 423 offers and received 171 acceptances and that the more than 200 other impacted staffers would have the opportunity to apply for vacant positions within the district. At the time, there were a total of 1,069 school-based vacancies to choose from; and on Tuesday, Feagins said an additional “200-plus” vacancies would be posted that day.

She also said that MSCS would support staffers applying for vacant positions. Between the paychecks running through mid-August and the opportunity to apply for open positions, Feagins asserted, staffers are receiving something akin to a severance package.

“Over the course of time, you continue to receive the same pay as your current salary, while having the opportunity to receive support from our talent management team to apply,” she said. “There’s no gap in pay. That’s equivalent to what severance would be, just short of you just getting that one-time pay.”

‘The best that we could’

Initially, the plan was for every impacted employee to receive an alternate job offer, instead of having to apply for them. But Feagins’ goal has been to move personnel and resources away from the central office and into the schools ― and some employees who had been with the district for years and moved into high-paying administrative roles were offered classroom-based posts that came with pay cuts exceeding $20,000.

This angered them, and Feagins faced significant backlash. During the community meeting on Thursday, she apologized and explained that allowing people to apply for jobs instead of direct offers was the best way forward.

The backlash hasn’t done anything to alter her plans. The proposed job cuts are tied to the fiscal year 2025 proposed budget, and Feagins expressed confidence that the MSCS board would pass it before or by the end of the fiscal year on June 30. The board has its official business meeting on June 25, at which point it can vote on and pass the budget. It could also vote on the budget on a different date by scheduling a special called meeting.

“I think we’ve done the best that we could do while salvaging jobs, respecting people, balancing the needs of a high-needs district and still being optimistic about our way forward,” Feagins said.

How did we get here?

The conversations about personnel shifts go back months.

During a board retreat in November, as board members discussed how to deal with a potential $150 million budget gap due to the looming end of COVID-federal relief funds, then-interim Superintendent Toni Williams brought up eliminating positions and moving staffers into vacant ones that were closer to classrooms. At the time, a proposed 675 positions were expected to be impacted. 

Then, in early February, during Feagins’ final interview for the superintendent job, she asserted that top portions of the district’s front office were “pretty bloated,” and that shifts needed to take place. She reiterated this point multiple times after stepping into the role on April 1; and on June 10, she sent out an email detailing the proposed 1,100 job cuts. By that point, employees had already been notified that their posts were being eliminated, and additional notifications went out the night of June 17.

Feagins has asserted that the changes are needed and cited the slew of challenges facing MSCS.

Classrooms, Feagins has asserted, desperately need more resources and personnel, and the district budget isn’t unlimited.

Feagins has received praise from teachers for the proposal. At a special called meeting, members of the United Education Association of Shelby County expressed their support and excitement about having more resources and employees in the schools.

During that same meeting, however, board members expressed frustration.

They expressed support for the proposed changes and said many of them could be necessary. They also said they stand by Feagins and commended her for being willing to take action. But they strongly criticized her for the lack of communication they received and the way she implemented the plan.

And they passed a resolution, pausing any additional layoffs until they got more details.

That resolution, however, hasn’t stopped the district from notifying employees about their jobs potentially being cut, as MSCS officials have maintained that they must notify employees and the state of the proposed layoffs to comply with Tennessee law, even before the board rescinds the resolution.

John Klyce covers education and children’s issues for The Commercial Appeal. You can reach him at John.klyce@commercialappeal.com.

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