This is a special edition email for Charlotte, NC subscribers. If you have a friend that's interested, you can forward it to them. Please do not copy + paste, post, or publish elsewhere.

😮‍💨 It's been a week Reader!

If you tuned in to the School Board Meeting last night it was a real shocker no one could have predicted.

Before I dive in, if you need a refresher on what's been going on, you can read Sunday's special edition email here.

About Last Night...

• 5pm Tues 9/22: After mounting scrutiny, Stephanie Sneed, Chair of the CMS Board of Education, announces she is stepping down from her role as Chair (she will remain a general board member).
  • ​Sneed's resignation is lengthy. It does not address the allegations that she extorted the Superintendent, funneled money to the McGregor Family through consulting firms SYDKYML, Qonnect, & Poyner Spruill, or abused her position of power. Instead, she shames the public and media for showing interest in the ongoings of the school board.
• 6:30pm The regularly scheduled school board meeting begins... about 30 minutes late. All 9 school board members (including Sneed) attend. The agenda is amended to include a vote on firing the superintendent, Crystal Hill. The Board Votes 5-4 to terminate Superintendent Hill's contract immediately.
  • Each board member had an opportunity to speak. No reason for termination is given, no evidence shared, and NO MENTION of how the superintendent could be tied to Sneed's alleged misappropriation of funds.
  • Some of the school board members, including Charlitta Hatch, used their time to scold the public and media, claiming that the public doesn't care "about the kids (a message that sound very similar to Sneed's resignation)
  • The following board members voted to remove the Superintendent: Duvall (At Large), Hatch (District 1), Hayes (2), Rankin (4), Sneed (3)
  • The following board members votes to keep the Superintendent: London (6), Shipp (At Large), Stone (5), Witherspoon (At Large).
• Superintendent Hill recently made public a 200+ page memo she authored, blowing the whistle on a variety of sketchy sounding contracts made with the BoE. I was expecting to hear the board discuss this alleged misuse of contracts, and potential waste of taxpayer money, and its ties Sneed and the McGregor Family.
• Today, the board released a statement about last night's meeting and the vote to remove the Superintendent, which also did not address Hill's memo or any shaky contracts. It did reveal that the McGregor family is getting at least $43,000 monthly from. CMS, in addition to a separate contract worth $1M.
• Instead - the board fired the woman who blew the whistle.

The State Auditor is Here

• Today at 3pm Dave Boliek, North Carolina's State Auditor, held a press conference in which he revealed he's already been investigating CMS for 3 weeks. Hill released her memo 5 days ago. I'm eagerly awaiting the outcome of this investigation.

How School Board Seats Work:

In CMS, school board seats are elected positions. In my last email, I mentioned how important checks and balances are: the Board holds CMS accountable, but it became clear as day, no one is holding the Board accountable.

It's us - the voters and general public that need to do so.

There are 9 school board members: 1 to represent each of the 6 school board zones, and then 3 more "at large" elected by each precinct in Mecklenburg County. Each Board member serves a 4 year elected term.

(Side note: you can Look up which school board district is in your precinct)

No school board members are up for re-election in November, but that could change if someone resigns due to public pressure. Board members Witherspoon, Shipp, and Duvall's terms end in 2027. The rest of the board's terms end in 2029.

Am I worried? Yes and no.

• Yes: Lots of smoke and mirrors...why isn't ANYONE on the school board publicly asking about how money is being spent? They say this is about the children - SO FUND THEM. It seems there's a culture of silence and cliques on the school board. These conversations should be public.
• No: will this impact the day to day life of students? I really don't think so. Your family will feel it more when your school's Principal changes, for example. This is happening at the district level, far from your child's campus.

Final Thoughts

Holding our leaders accountable (in the district and on the board) means making information public.

Reporters Joe Bruno (WSOC TV) and James Farrell (WFAE) are both diligently covering this story. Get in their replies, and make sure they know you appreciate their work, and want to hear the entire story. It's what we deserve as taxpayers.

Hit Reply and send me your questions, your thoughts, and concerns - I want to know what you're thinking!

🫣 Let's hope for a calm day tomorrow,