Charlotte CMS Investigation: A Month Later, Who's Minding the Store? | CLT Daily

Description

A month after Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools fired Superintendent Crystal Hill, the key questions about payments to consultant Raki McGregor are still unanswered, while the SBI, the state auditor and the FBI all investigate. And the board's new legal and compliance office, meant to keep watch, has almost nobody in it. Plus: the Republican share of North Carolina's early vote is down sharply from the last two midterms, alcohol-related ER visits keep climbing in Mecklenburg, the Panthers win in Philadelphia, and how to get in and out of the new Ballantyne Wegmans.

CLT Daily — Charlotte's independent daily briefing. New episodes every morning. cltdaily.com

Sources this episode: The Charlotte Ledger, WFAE, WBTV, The Shelby Report

CLT Daily is written, hosted and produced by Steve Bouboulis, an independent journalist covering the Queen City. Got a tip, a document, or a story the city isn't telling? Reach him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevebouboulis/

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Transcription

Speaker #0
Something opened last week that's worth the drive. Charlotte been waiting on it a while, and the opening crowds haven't let up. Stick around. I'll tell you how to get in, and out, without losing your morning. But first, this is CLT Daily. I'm Steve Baboulis. It's Monday, October 19th, your independent daily briefing for the Queen City. Today, a month after Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools fired its superintendent, the biggest questions are still open, and the offices meant to keep watch are mostly empty. Quick refresher. On September 22nd, the school board fired Superintendent Crystal Hill on a 5-4 vote. Days earlier, she'd sent board members a memo questioning payments to a consultant named Reiki McGregor. The money ran through an outside law firm, Pointer Spruill. WBTV reports one arrangement paid McGregor's firm $30,000 a month. A separate compliance review was worth $220,000, with $132,000 of that going to McGregor. Since then, The district attorney asked the State Bureau investigation to open a criminal inquiry. The state auditor is reviewing the district's contracts, and the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office confirm a investigation. This morning, Tony Mecha at the Charlotte Ledger laid out what's still unknown, working from the records in Hill's memo. Why did the law firm hire McGregor? What did he actually do? The Ledger reports CMS has no record of work he produced on either project. In August, The district's finance chief said she couldn't find a contract or purchase order behind one of the law firm's invoices. How close is his relationship with board member Stephanie Sneed, who stepped down as chair the day Hill was fired? McGregor gave $500 to her re-election campaign. And did any of this break district policy? The law firm hasn't explained. Sneed hasn't publicly discussed her role. The ledger says no evidence shows she personally profited. Nobody has been charged. and Hill's memo is her account, not a finding. Now put that next to a second story. Last week, WFAE's James Farrell reported on the board's new org chart. It merges legal and compliance into one office that reports straight to the board. In other words, the board's in-house watchdog. But the top legal and compliance job has never been filled. The compliance director's seat is vacant, the general counsel is acting, and the superintendent is gone. All three jobs reporting to the board are vacant or interim. So the district is rebuilding its oversight in the middle of three investigation, with few of the people who'd run it. A former federal prosecutor told the ledger cases like this take six months to a year. Suspicion isn't proof, but the questions aren't going away. All right, here's what else you need to know today. Early voting. After three days statewide, registered Republicans made up about 20% of ballots cast. WFAE's Steve Harrison reports. At the same point in the last two midterms, it was 30. Democratic, unaffiliated, and Black voter shares are all up. Early voting runs through October 31st. Alcohol-related ER visits in Mecklenburg rose from about 7,000 in 2022 to more than 9,700 last year, WFAE reports. This year is on pace for more than 10,000. And the Panthers won in Philadelphia. 25 to 14. Coming off the bye, Carolina is now three and two and hosts Tampa Bay on Sunday at one. Now, as promised, Wegmans is open in Ballantyne on North Community House Road. It's the first one in the Charlotte region, 110,000 square feet with about 450 people working there. Inside, you'll find seafood, a cheese shop, and a bakery, plus sushi, pizza, and wings, and a cafe that seats 180. a lot of it out on the patio. Here's how you keep your morning. It's open every day from six in the morning to midnight. That's 18 hours to work with, so you don't have to go at noon on a Saturday. And if you want a job there, part-time pay starts at $16.50 an hour. We've got the full guide at CLT. That's CLT Daily for Monday, October 19th. I'm Steve Baboulis. We'll be back tomorrow. Same time, same city. Until then, Charlotte, take care of each other.

Description

CLT Daily — Charlotte's independent daily briefing. New episodes every morning. cltdaily.com

Sources this episode: The Charlotte Ledger, WFAE, WBTV, The Shelby Report

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Transcription

Speaker #0
Something opened last week that's worth the drive. Charlotte been waiting on it a while, and the opening crowds haven't let up. Stick around. I'll tell you how to get in, and out, without losing your morning. But first, this is CLT Daily. I'm Steve Baboulis. It's Monday, October 19th, your independent daily briefing for the Queen City. Today, a month after Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools fired its superintendent, the biggest questions are still open, and the offices meant to keep watch are mostly empty. Quick refresher. On September 22nd, the school board fired Superintendent Crystal Hill on a 5-4 vote. Days earlier, she'd sent board members a memo questioning payments to a consultant named Reiki McGregor. The money ran through an outside law firm, Pointer Spruill. WBTV reports one arrangement paid McGregor's firm $30,000 a month. A separate compliance review was worth $220,000, with $132,000 of that going to McGregor. Since then, The district attorney asked the State Bureau investigation to open a criminal inquiry. The state auditor is reviewing the district's contracts, and the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office confirm a investigation. This morning, Tony Mecha at the Charlotte Ledger laid out what's still unknown, working from the records in Hill's memo. Why did the law firm hire McGregor? What did he actually do? The Ledger reports CMS has no record of work he produced on either project. In August, The district's finance chief said she couldn't find a contract or purchase order behind one of the law firm's invoices. How close is his relationship with board member Stephanie Sneed, who stepped down as chair the day Hill was fired? McGregor gave $500 to her re-election campaign. And did any of this break district policy? The law firm hasn't explained. Sneed hasn't publicly discussed her role. The ledger says no evidence shows she personally profited. Nobody has been charged. and Hill's memo is her account, not a finding. Now put that next to a second story. Last week, WFAE's James Farrell reported on the board's new org chart. It merges legal and compliance into one office that reports straight to the board. In other words, the board's in-house watchdog. But the top legal and compliance job has never been filled. The compliance director's seat is vacant, the general counsel is acting, and the superintendent is gone. All three jobs reporting to the board are vacant or interim. So the district is rebuilding its oversight in the middle of three investigation, with few of the people who'd run it. A former federal prosecutor told the ledger cases like this take six months to a year. Suspicion isn't proof, but the questions aren't going away. All right, here's what else you need to know today. Early voting. After three days statewide, registered Republicans made up about 20% of ballots cast. WFAE's Steve Harrison reports. At the same point in the last two midterms, it was 30. Democratic, unaffiliated, and Black voter shares are all up. Early voting runs through October 31st. Alcohol-related ER visits in Mecklenburg rose from about 7,000 in 2022 to more than 9,700 last year, WFAE reports. This year is on pace for more than 10,000. And the Panthers won in Philadelphia. 25 to 14. Coming off the bye, Carolina is now three and two and hosts Tampa Bay on Sunday at one. Now, as promised, Wegmans is open in Ballantyne on North Community House Road. It's the first one in the Charlotte region, 110,000 square feet with about 450 people working there. Inside, you'll find seafood, a cheese shop, and a bakery, plus sushi, pizza, and wings, and a cafe that seats 180. a lot of it out on the patio. Here's how you keep your morning. It's open every day from six in the morning to midnight. That's 18 hours to work with, so you don't have to go at noon on a Saturday. And if you want a job there, part-time pay starts at $16.50 an hour. We've got the full guide at CLT. That's CLT Daily for Monday, October 19th. I'm Steve Baboulis. We'll be back tomorrow. Same time, same city. Until then, Charlotte, take care of each other.

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