MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Two West Memphis residents have filed a lawsuit against the city’s school district, claiming the district violated Freedom of Information Act laws when it hired a new superintendent after firing the previous leader.
Former West Memphis School District Superintendent Richard Atwill was fired in mid-April 2023, after just under a year on the job following the resignation of former Superintendent Jon Collins. Willie Rhodes was named interim superintendent after the board voted to pay out Atwill’s three-year contract.
A meeting was held at the end of April to discuss the firing, at which several WMSD parents voiced concerns about what happened.
“What we chose to do in this instance, is try and get new leadership. We fired him without cause. And therefore, there is no further discussion into any reason we may or may not have,” said WSMD School board member Joann Faulkner at the time.
May 31, WMSD announced Dr. Terrence A. Brown was selected from four finalists for the position. He took over on July 1.
The lawsuit filed with the Crittenden County Circuit Court claims the West Memphis School District violated FOIA when it “secretly” held interviews on May 24 and 25, 2023, for the position, and no notice was given to the public. The lawsuit says the plaintiffs submitted a FOIA request for documentation related to the interviews and were given an email chain documenting the interviews with the four candidates.
The suit also claims WMSD board member Dr. Kimberly Wolfe was not told why Atwill’s contract was terminated. It says Dr. Wolfe asked the Arkansas School Boards Association attorney about open-meetings provisions because the interviews were not public. The lawsuit says she did not take part in the interviews.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare the interviews “illegal meetings under FOIA” and prevent the school district from “conducting public business in secret in the future.”