Hill Is Back. The Board Still Won't Say What It Found. | CLT Daily

Description

Crystal Hill will remain superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. That's the news. Everything else about it is still a secret. After a two-month investigation by the law firm Brooks Pierce at $275 an hour, board chair Stephanie Sneed confirmed that serious concerns about district operations and oversight existed — and disclosed nothing else. Not the allegations. Not how members voted. Not the findings. Not what changes. Not what it cost. Hill returns to work Thursday; students return in thirteen days. Plus: a Charlotte program that employed formerly incarcerated people to repair laptops shuts down after a year, the city's data center task force meets for the first time with the moratorium expiring November 5, and Charlotte FC's Leagues Cup run ends on a stoppage-time goal. And Charlotte Pride is this weekend — festival times, parade route, all of it free.

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

Sources this episode: WFAE, WBTV, The Charlotte Post, Charlotte FC, Charlotte Pride.

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

Transcription

Speaker #0
Stay with me for 10 seconds. This weekend, Charlotte hands over its streets, and I finally have the times and the route for you. That's at the end. But first, this is CLT Daily. I'm Steve Baboulis. It's Wednesday, August 12th. Your independent daily briefing for the Queen City. Today, Crystal Hill is still the superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools. That's the news. Everything else about it is still a secret. Here's what we know as of last night. Board Chair Stephanie Sneed announced that Hill will remain in her role. Her words. The decision follows, quote, A thorough and independent review of concerns about district operations and oversight. Hill goes back to work tomorrow. Students go back in 13 days. Now here's what the board did not say. It did not say what the allegations were. It did not say how the members voted, or whether the vote was close, or whether anyone dissented. It did not release the findings. It did not say what happens next beyond a promise of ongoing oversight. And it has not published what the investigation cost. The law firm Brooks Pierce was billing $275 an hour for two months. I want to be precise about the position this leaves the public in, because it's genuinely strange. Sneed confirmed that serious concerns about district operations you and oversight existed. She said the review was thorough, and she disclosed nothing else. So the district has told us two things that sit uneasily together. Something was serious enough to remove a superintendent from her job for two months, and nothing was serious enough to tell anyone about. Both of those can be defensible. Personnel law is real, and a board that leaks half an investigation does damage of its own. But a board can say more than this without breaking anything. It can say whether the findings were substantiated. It can say what changes. It can say what it cost. I've been counting this clock on the show for a week, and I want to be straight with you about where it landed. The board promised an update before school started. Technically, it delivered one. The update contains no information. Thirteen days from now, about 147,000 students walk back into buildings run by a superintendent who was removed and returned. and the people who removed and returned her have explained neither decision. All right, here's what else you need to know today. A Charlotte program that hired formerly incarcerated people to repair laptops and phones has shut down after one year. It was called ReConnex, founded by Henry Rock through City Startup Labs, operating out of 1,400 square feet in the Sugar Creek Corridor on a $400,000 state grant. The idea was to do three things at once. Employ people coming home, close the digital divide, and run as a worker-owned business. Rock's assessment. It was not the sustainable enterprise they hoped for, and they decided not to keep subsidizing something that wasn't demonstrating it could stand up. Worth sitting with, given we talk Sunday about what the county jail inherits. The city's data center task force meets you for the first time tomorrow. The moratorium expires November 5th, which means whoever is on that panel has under three months to shape what Charlotte's rules become. Watch who gets appointed. And Charlotte FC's League's Cup run is over. Pachuca won 1-0 at Bank of America Stadium, scoring moments into stoppage time, and that ends it. Three Mexican clubs in eight days, two wins and one loss on the last kick. Alan St. Maximin you made his debut in the 72nd minute. Archie Goodwin had a penalty saved in the 81st. They're back to league play Saturday against Columbus. Now, as promised, Charlotte Pride this weekend, and it's free. The festival is at First Ward Park, 301 East 7th Street, Saturday from noon to 10 at night, Sunday from noon to 6. There's a youth and family zone both days. The parade is Sunday, 1 to 4 in the afternoon, down Tryon Street. stepping off from 9th as it has in years past, free to watch from the sidewalk. And on Saturday afternoon, 1 to 6, there's Flourish, a celebration of LGBTQ arts and culture at the Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte. That's CLT Daily for Wednesday, August 12th. 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: WFAE, WBTV, The Charlotte Post, Charlotte FC, Charlotte Pride.

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

Transcription

Speaker #0
Stay with me for 10 seconds. This weekend, Charlotte hands over its streets, and I finally have the times and the route for you. That's at the end. But first, this is CLT Daily. I'm Steve Baboulis. It's Wednesday, August 12th. Your independent daily briefing for the Queen City. Today, Crystal Hill is still the superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools. That's the news. Everything else about it is still a secret. Here's what we know as of last night. Board Chair Stephanie Sneed announced that Hill will remain in her role. Her words. The decision follows, quote, A thorough and independent review of concerns about district operations and oversight. Hill goes back to work tomorrow. Students go back in 13 days. Now here's what the board did not say. It did not say what the allegations were. It did not say how the members voted, or whether the vote was close, or whether anyone dissented. It did not release the findings. It did not say what happens next beyond a promise of ongoing oversight. And it has not published what the investigation cost. The law firm Brooks Pierce was billing $275 an hour for two months. I want to be precise about the position this leaves the public in, because it's genuinely strange. Sneed confirmed that serious concerns about district operations you and oversight existed. She said the review was thorough, and she disclosed nothing else. So the district has told us two things that sit uneasily together. Something was serious enough to remove a superintendent from her job for two months, and nothing was serious enough to tell anyone about. Both of those can be defensible. Personnel law is real, and a board that leaks half an investigation does damage of its own. But a board can say more than this without breaking anything. It can say whether the findings were substantiated. It can say what changes. It can say what it cost. I've been counting this clock on the show for a week, and I want to be straight with you about where it landed. The board promised an update before school started. Technically, it delivered one. The update contains no information. Thirteen days from now, about 147,000 students walk back into buildings run by a superintendent who was removed and returned. and the people who removed and returned her have explained neither decision. All right, here's what else you need to know today. A Charlotte program that hired formerly incarcerated people to repair laptops and phones has shut down after one year. It was called ReConnex, founded by Henry Rock through City Startup Labs, operating out of 1,400 square feet in the Sugar Creek Corridor on a $400,000 state grant. The idea was to do three things at once. Employ people coming home, close the digital divide, and run as a worker-owned business. Rock's assessment. It was not the sustainable enterprise they hoped for, and they decided not to keep subsidizing something that wasn't demonstrating it could stand up. Worth sitting with, given we talk Sunday about what the county jail inherits. The city's data center task force meets you for the first time tomorrow. The moratorium expires November 5th, which means whoever is on that panel has under three months to shape what Charlotte's rules become. Watch who gets appointed. And Charlotte FC's League's Cup run is over. Pachuca won 1-0 at Bank of America Stadium, scoring moments into stoppage time, and that ends it. Three Mexican clubs in eight days, two wins and one loss on the last kick. Alan St. Maximin you made his debut in the 72nd minute. Archie Goodwin had a penalty saved in the 81st. They're back to league play Saturday against Columbus. Now, as promised, Charlotte Pride this weekend, and it's free. The festival is at First Ward Park, 301 East 7th Street, Saturday from noon to 10 at night, Sunday from noon to 6. There's a youth and family zone both days. The parade is Sunday, 1 to 4 in the afternoon, down Tryon Street. stepping off from 9th as it has in years past, free to watch from the sidewalk. And on Saturday afternoon, 1 to 6, there's Flourish, a celebration of LGBTQ arts and culture at the Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte. That's CLT Daily for Wednesday, August 12th. 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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