CMS investigation into Crystal Hill will cost at least $275 an hour, contract shows
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will pay outside attorneys $275 an hour to investigate Superintendent Crystal Hill, newly released contract documents show.
Read more Used the Duke MyChart app? You could be owed part of $3.74 million settlement
The records, released Thursday in response to a public records request, offer the first detailed look at how the school board is handling the investigation that led it to place Hill on paid leave last week. Brooks Pierce will conduct what the agreement describes as a “confidential privileged investigation related to an employment matter.” The contract also authorizes public relations consultants to assist with the matter at rates of up to $450 an hour.
Board Chair Stephanie Sneed told The Charlotte Observer last week she expects the investigation to take at least several weeks. She said the district is paying the firm by the hour but did not know what the total cost would be.
The law firm noted in the contract its $275-per-hour rate is “a substantial discount” from its regular rates and was being offered to CMS as a North Carolina board of education.
The contract also authorizes Brooks Pierce to retain Fitzpatrick Communications to provide public relations counsel in connection with the investigation. Under the agreement, communications consultant Joyce Fitzpatrick will bill $450 per hour, while consultant Robert Brown will bill $350 per hour. The contract states those communications services are intended to inform the firm’s legal advice.
The agreement does not include an estimate for the total cost of the investigation.
Read more Used the Duke MyChart app? You could be owed part of $3.74 million settlement
The contract is effective May 18, a few weeks before the board announced Hill had been placed on paid leave pending an investigation into what it described as matters involving “administrative and operational oversight.”
While the law firm’s letter sheds light on how the investigation will be conducted, it offers little insight into what prompted it. Rather than describing specific allegations, the contract states Brooks Pierce was retained to provide legal advice, counsel and a confidential investigation related to an “employment matter.”
Board Chair Stephanie Sneed told The Charlotte Observer the allegations against Hill were serious enough to warrant an independent investigation by outside counsel, but stressed the board has not reached any conclusions and is not pursuing a predetermined outcome. Hill, meanwhile, has defended her record, saying she is “saddened” by the board’s actions but will fully cooperate with the investigation.
The agreement also makes clear the board intended the investigation to be conducted under attorney-client privilege. However, Brooks Pierce cautioned investigations performed by outside counsel “are not always protected” and said that some materials could ultimately be subject to disclosure under state law or court order.
Read more A stinging ant has invaded NC, and its bite can be deadly. How to ID it
