Representative documentary image of a public school district administrative building. It does not depict a specific meeting or event.
**CHARLOTTE : ** Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Dr. Crystal Hill alleges that the district’s Board of Education and Chair Stephanie Sneed used improper pressure, bypassed contracting safeguards and directed public money through arrangements involving Raki McGregor and his family.
Hill made the allegations in a memo sent to board members Wednesday, Sept. 16. The document, described in reports as roughly 200 pages including exhibits, was obtained and reported by WSOC-TV on Thursday.
The allegations have not been adjudicated. No court or independent public body has found that Sneed, McGregor or any other board member violated the law. Sneed did not respond to a request for comment. McGregor did not return a request for comment.
The memo arrives days before the board is scheduled to vote on whether Sneed will remain chair. Board members Cynthia Stone, Monty Witherspoon and Lenora Shipp initiated the motion to remove her from the leadership position. Sneed has said she retains majority support. The Sept. 22 vote concerns the chair’s position, not Sneed’s seat on the board.
Hill’s allegation of extortion
Hill wrote that she was placed on leave after board officials told her she faced serious allegations. According to her memo, she was told the allegations would “never be made public” if she resigned by that Friday.
Hill characterized the demand as extortion.
The board later hired outside counsel to investigate her. The two-month investigation cost roughly $400,000, according to local reporting and public records. Hill was returned from leave after the investigation, and she has said it found no wrongdoing.
The board has said the investigation identified issues involving leadership and operational practices. Board members have pushed back on Hill’s account of the process, describing the memo’s claims as her perspective rather than established fact.
Vice Chair Dee Rankin told WSOC-TV that the board followed proper procedures and said the investigation’s findings would be disclosed later this month. The board has voted to release a public summary, although personnel-confidentiality rules may limit the information it can provide.
An empty board chamber represents the public setting in which CMS governance decisions are made; this image does not depict the Sept. 22 meeting.
Contracts tied to McGregor’s work
A central section of Hill’s memo concerns McGregor, a community activist and former CMS executive in residence.
Earlier WSOC-TV reporting found that McGregor was paid $13,000 per month in 2024 to oversee the At Home in CMS housing program and a student mentorship program. His wife, Kimberly McGregor, directed SYDKIMYL, a company that held a separate CMS contract for consulting and coaching.
In March 2025, the board was asked to approve a $175,000 increase for SYDKIMYL. Hill wrote that board members and members of the public raised conflict-of-interest concerns because McGregor was working as a chief executive while his wife directed and benefited from another CMS contract.
Three board members voted against the increase. None remains on the board.
Hill wrote that she chose not to offer McGregor another Executive in Residence contract after his previous arrangement ended. She said she was concerned that he could politically retaliate against the three board members who opposed the increase. Hill also wrote that Sneed was not supportive of her decision.
The allegations describe a continuing pattern of contracts and payments involving the McGregors’ companies. In August 2025, CMS Academic Services entered into a $180,000 contract with SYDKIMYL. The amount was below the threshold requiring a board vote.
Hill wrote that Sneed and McGregor later presented at two conferences highlighting SYDKIMYL’s work and its impact on CMS. She said those presentations led to two additional contracts for the company with other entities. Hill also wrote that she was not aware of a board vote authorizing Sneed to endorse SYDKIMYL on behalf of the district.
The SYDKIMYL contract expired in January 2026.
The Qonnect payments
Hill’s memo also focuses on Qonnect, a company owned by McGregor.
Hill wrote that Poyner Spruill, the law firm hired by the board, entered into an agreement with Qonnect for advisory services connected to At Home in CMS. The arrangement paid McGregor $30,000, billed to CMS.
Charlotte Observer reporting has described a broader arrangement in which Qonnect received a $30,000 monthly retainer through Poyner Spruill for work connected to the district’s educator housing initiative. The Observer reported that CMS paid the law firm, which then paid Qonnect as a subcontractor.
Hill wrote that she did not know “how, why, or when” the housing program was turned over to Poyner Spruill, Sneed and McGregor. She said other board members appeared unaware of McGregor’s role.
The questions are not limited to the amount paid. They concern who authorized the work, whether a direct CMS contract was required, what services McGregor performed and whether all board members received the same information.
In September, CMS paused a separate compliance review conducted by Poyner Spruill while the district examined a potential conflict involving Qonnect as a subcontractor. WFAE reported that the review involved a $132,000 agreement and that the board directed the acting general counsel to pause the work.
Hill’s memo says that four days before she was placed on leave, Poyner Spruill and Qonnect agreed to another contract for a compliance assessment worth $132,000 and billed to CMS. She wrote that payment problems later emerged and that the chief financial officer said proper policy had not been followed.
Hill alleged that no one at CMS knew the purpose or scope of the Qonnect contract except Sneed and Rankin. She accused Sneed of intentionally circumventing district policies to prevent McGregor’s involvement from being disclosed.
Those allegations remain contested.
Representative image of budget and contracting materials in an administrative setting. Documents are intentionally unreadable and do not represent a specific CMS record.
The budget question
Hill also connected McGregor’s companies to the dispute over the district’s budget.
After the board publicly rejected Hill’s initial budget recommendation, she wrote that board members made anonymous requests to staff about changes they wanted included. One request called for direct-to-student social and emotional learning services.
Hill interpreted that request as a way to benefit SYDKIMYL. The final budget’s only substantial change, she wrote, was a new $1 million line item for those services. Hill alleged that the item directly benefited Kimberly McGregor’s company.
The memo does not establish that the budget request was made for that purpose or that SYDKIMYL improperly received public funds. Those questions require documentation of the request, the procurement process, the final recipient and the services delivered.
For Charlotte families, the budget dispute is not an internal administrative matter. CMS is one of the nation’s largest school districts and serves a student population that is majority Black and Latino. Decisions over consulting, housing, student services and leadership affect classroom resources, teacher retention, family confidence and the district’s ability to secure public support for future budgets and bonds.
What the board must explain
The immediate political question is whether Sneed will remain chair. The broader accountability questions extend beyond the Sept. 22 vote.
The public needs to know:
- Who approved each contract involving SYDKIMYL, Qonnect and Poyner Spruill?
- Under what authority were the contracts executed?
- Why were some arrangements structured below the threshold requiring a board vote?
- Were subcontractors disclosed to the board and the public?
- What policies governed the payments to Qonnect?
- Who benefited financially from each agreement?
- Were conflicts of interest identified, reported or reviewed?
- What was the total cost of the Hill investigation and the related legal work?
- What did the investigation conclude, and what will the board release later this month?
- Why was the compliance review paused, and who will independently assess the potential conflict?
- What safeguards will protect students, staff, families and taxpayers from future contracting disputes?
CMS governance has entered a period in which leadership disputes, vendor relationships and public spending are being examined at the same time. The board’s responsibility is not only to decide who leads its meetings. It must also establish a clear record of how contracts were approved, how conflicts were handled and whether district policies were applied consistently.
Hill closed her memo with a question about public understanding: “There is a lot I do not understand about the events listed here. If I don’t understand the Board’s decisions from my seat as Superintendent, we can’t reasonably expect employees or taxpayers to understand.”
The board’s response will be measured by the records it releases, the questions it answers and the authority it accepts for decisions made in the public’s name.
Sources
- WSOC-TV: CMS superintendent raises concerns about board contracts
- WSOC-TV: Some board members push back on CMS superintendent memo allegations
- WFAE: Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board to consider removing Sneed as chair
- WFAE: CMS pauses compliance review over potential conflict involving subcontractor
- WFAE: Hill says CMS investigation found no wrongdoing
- Charlotte Observer reporting on Qonnect and $30,000 monthly payments
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