CHARLOTTE — The chair of the North Carolina State House Education Committee says she’s monitoring the ongoing chaos in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
State Rep. Tricia Cotham told Channel 9 Government Reporter Joe Bruno that she applauds Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather for asking for a review by the State Bureau of Investigation.
It all stems from a whirlwind of a month in CMS that saw the firing of Superintendent Dr. Crystal Hill, the resignation of multiple school district leaders and executive staffers, and new questions about hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of contracts awarded to a friend of the school board chair.
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Cotham says it’s too early to predict if any potential changes will be made at the state level, but she says anyone who has broken the law should be held accountable.
“How embarrassing, how ridiculous. You know, it was really odd back in May when all this started happening, and then to have to end a school year without a superintendent, and then we have summer. We now have these new results. Things are improving some in CMS, and we want that,” Cotham said. “And then we have this whole problem, and you know who’s the problem here? Adults. Adults are the problem. Bureaucrats are the problem. Kids should be prioritized and be first.”
Cotham says there have been calls for the oversight committee to probe the school district. Lawmakers won’t return to session until after the November election.