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New accountability questions after CMS bus fires

By Paul Boyd
By Paul Boyd

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools official told Channel 9 on Monday that the most recent school bus fire on Nov. 14 remains an active investigation.

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"CMS and (the Department of Public Instruction) inspectors were unable to positively identify a specific cause, but did feel that the area around the starter could be an area of concern," spokeswoman Renee McCoy said. “CMS transportation took proactive steps to begin inspections of the starter area (on thier bus fleet after the fire.)"

The school district also responded to new accountability questions being raised by current and former maintenance technicians who work on CMS buses.

The key concern brought to the attention of Channel 9 was that bus fleet manager David Epperson is now married to Janet Thomas, the executive director of transportation for CMS.

Lincoln County records show the couple married in 2016. Employment records confirm they were in their current roles at the time.

A wedding photo of the newlyweds was posted on Janet Thomas' Facebook page last year.

Much of the CMS transportation department continues to be led by the husband and wife who earn a combined $198,000 in compensation. Sources say that Epperson has previously reported directly to Thomas. CMS officials didn't answer our questions on Monday about that potential conflict of interest.

"Many people are upset because the maintenance manager and transportation director are married and they feel they have no one they can go to if they have a problem," a former CMS maintenance worker, who asked to remain anonymous, said.

CMS officials responded to that specific criticism.

"Any CMS employee who has concerns about departmental personnel practices is able to contact CMS-Employee Relations to express their concerns, or elevate those concerns using the internal CMS processes," CMS officials said in a statement.

The anonymous source also pointed to an internal CMS memo from June 2017 that they say illustrates why there are questions about accountability.

It was sent to "All CMS Maintenance Staff" and is written by "David Epperson," with his boss “Janet Thomas" carbon copied. Epperson said in part of the memo, "I am confident we are not giving our fleet the best attention to maintain quality standards."

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