‘Everything’s on the table.’ NC Auditor describes details of state probe into CMS
The North Carolina State Auditor’s Office is pledging “to get to the bottom” of alleged “financial irregularities” within Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools as it confirms another investigation into the troubled school district.
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Auditor Dave Boliek confirmed the investigation during a news conference in Charlotte on Wednesday, where he said he met with some district staff less than 24 hours after the CMS board voted to fire Superintendent Crystal Hill. Stephanie Sneed also resigned as board chair Tuesday.
“We’re going to get to the bottom of financial irregularities and move forward with data-driven answers,” Boliek said.
His announcement came days after Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather announced he asked the State Bureau of Investigations to launch a formal criminal investigation after previously asking the SBI to “conduct an informal inquiry into reports of alleged financial irregularities within transactions involving” CMS.
The auditor told reporters his office began looking into the district about three weeks ago and received “a large tranche of data” from CMS. He said communication between his office and the district has been “very productive” so far and that he’s spoken with new CMS board Chair Dee Rankin.
“Since we were already engaged, we felt that it was really important to come down, meet with some people in the finance department and let them know that we were prepared to help calm the chaos,” Boliek told The Charlotte Observer after his appearance in Charlotte.
The auditor said the documents his office already received from CMS include contracts, budgets and “financial transactional data.”
Boliek says he’s aware of the memo Hill sent to CMS board members ahead of her firing that alleged the board tried to extort her into resigning before launching an investigation into her administration this summer, he said. The memo also raised concerns about ties between board members and CMS contractors, political involvement of CMS representatives and the motives behind the board’s investigation of Hill.
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“Everything’s on the table to take a look at,” Boliek told the Observer when asked if his office will probe Hill’s specific claims. “… But at the Office of State Auditor, our primary goal is to go to primary source documents and to get the facts so that we can assure the people of Mecklenburg County and the taxpayers of the state of North Carolina that the finances are correct and that the proper processes and procedures have been followed.”
The auditor’s office investigation will be released as quickly as possible, Boliek said, and “will include a detailed analysis of the issues that our team discovers.”
In addition to releasing audit reports, Boliek noted his office has the authority to refer any “criminal activity” it uncovers to the SBI. The auditor’s office is “actively coordinating with the State Bureau of Investigation within the standards of our office,” Boliek told reporters.
And the auditor’s office could engage the state’s Local Government Commission and the State Board of Education, Boliek added, as it did after releasing a report on Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools in 2025.
The State Auditor’s Office has launched multiple investigations in Charlotte since Boliek, a Republican, was elected in 2024.
He’s also probed the city of Charlotte’s settlement with its outgoing police chief, security on the city’s public transit system after a fatal stabbing and the city’s $650 million contribution to renovations to Bank of America Stadium.
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