FBI subpoenas CMS regarding resignation of former superintendent

CHARLOTTE — The FBI wants papers from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools related to the resignation of former superintendent Clayton Wilcox.

The school district shared the subpoena from the Department of Justice with education reporter Elsa Gillis.

The U.S. attorney is asking for the district to provide “any and all documents relating or incident to the resignation of former superintendent Clayton Wilcox" from June 2017 to Sept. 6, which was when the subpoena was issued to CMS.

[ALSO READ: CMS: District ‘paused’ fingerprinting new employees during background checks]

The CMS School Board chair told Gillis Friday morning that they were told it was a routine matter, something they do when a superintendent separates from a district to make sure federal funds have not been misused.

Wilcox was suspended and then resigned in August after two years on the job.

Sources confirmed with Channel 9 that his suspension involved a few violations of state law and board policies, which require compliance.

One of the issues was when CMS stopped fingerprinting new employees for several months.

There were also issues with Pre-K through second-grade suspension policies and how they were reported, as well as miscalculating the number of days the district can miss class.

That miscalculation resulted in Butler High School students going to school an extra day at the end of the year to make up the day missed following a deadly shooting in October 2019.