MCSD superintendent leaps to feet during board meeting to defend wife

Superintendent David Lewis darted from the dais during Monday night's Muscogee County School Board meeting to defend his wife.

As board chairwoman Kia Chambers transitioned to the next item on the agenda, Karen Lewis stood from her chair in the audience and exclaimed, “Excuse me! What did you say?”

She was speaking to Nathan Smith, a vocal critic of the Muscogee County School District administration, who had walked past her on his way back to his seat.

Mrs. Lewis left the room, and Dr. Lewis followed.

Smith had called her “chicken head,” Mrs. Lewis told the Ledger-Enquirer in the Muscogee County Public Education Center’s lobby outside the boardroom. It wasn’t the first time he has called her a derogatory name, she added.

Asked for his response, Smith told the L-E in an email, “I said nothing to Mrs. Lewis nor did I even look at her.”

Smith remained in the boardroom until he left a few minutes later and exited the building in the opposite direction of the Lewises, he said.

“I did not want there to be a confrontation,” Smith said in a phone interview with the L-E Tuesday.

Dr. Lewis told the L-E in an email, “This is a pattern of blatantly inappropriate behavior toward my wife by this individual. It is disheartening that he would say anything to my wife, but even more so coming on the heels of a public presentation regarding the toxic effects of bullying.”

The Ledger-Enquirer hasn’t been able to confirm with any witness either version of the dispute.

This story was originally published April 17, 2018 at 2:40 PM with the headline "MCSD superintendent leaps to feet during board meeting to defend wife."