CHARLOTTE — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Dr. Crystal Hill has been placed on paid leave amid an investigation into high-dollar contracts awarded to former colleagues.
Concerns have been raised regarding multiple consultancy agreements, including over $512,000 in contracts given to a firm owned by Hill’s former boss.
The agreements are currently under scrutiny by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education following questioning from former board member Lisa Cline.
[ PREVIOUS COVERAGE: CMS superintendent says she doesn’t know why she’s under investigation ]
The contracts in question involve educational consultant firms owned and operated by individuals who previously worked with Hill at Cabarrus County Schools.
Among these firms is HayMag Consulting LLC, owned by Dr. Christopher Lowder, who served as Hill’s superintendent in Cabarrus County.
Through a public records request, it was learned that HayMag Consulting LLC secured six different contracts with CMS between 2023 and 2026, totaling more than $512,000 for coaching principals and executive-level staff.
Cline, a former member of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education and former Chair of the Finance Committee, stated that she “questioned a lot” during her tenure regarding these contracts.
Cline indicated that she noticed a pattern concerning these agreements.
“The next to the last year, we started seeing a pattern; some of us questioned,” Cline said, explaining that “It was the same contract and the money kept coming to the same group.”
She raised concerns about the close ties between Dr. Hill and the contractors.
“I think sometimes when you get too close to people, what is owed, what do you owe, would be a question,” Cline said.
Dr. Lowder was hired to coach CMS principals and executive-level staff under these contracts.
Cline also expressed reservations about the financial impact of these agreements.
“I think that’s a lot of money that could have gone to permanent staff; it could have been redirected to teachers,” she noted.
Documents obtained also revealed that Lynn Rhymer and Glenda Jones, identified as other former colleagues of Hill, were awarded consultancy contracts that Cline also questioned.
She indicated that some of these contracts went unnoticed by the board.
“Some of the contracts were small contracts; we never saw if it was below a certain threshold; the board never saw it,” Cline said.
This led her to question the extent to which Hill’s relationships influenced the district’s operations.
Cline further questioned the effectiveness of the services provided.
She asked, “What changes were made for those principals, or those teachers, because were the principals that they helped, are they still in the same position?”
She noted that past superintendents typically evaluated and coached principals themselves, or assigned top-level district staff to do so, making Hill the first to hire outside firms for this purpose.
Hill and Lowder were reached out to for comment on these matters but have not yet responded.