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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has signed a new contract with SYDKIMYL, an education consulting firm whose previous $500,000 contract with the district prompted questions from some school board members last year.
The firm’s last contract expired in June, but company founder Kimberly McGregor confirmed the new contract to WFAE. A public records request shows CMS signed a $180,000 contract that runs from Aug. 25 to Jan. 30. The monetary amount falls below the $250,000 threshold to require board approval, meaning it didn’t come up on a board agenda for a vote.
SYDKIMYL is an educational consulting firm founded by McGregor, a former CMS counselor. The group offers social-emotional counseling, coaching for educators and tutoring to students.
In addition to a nearly $600,000 contract with Mecklenburg County, last school year, SYDKIMYL had a $325,000 contract with CMS to work in what McGregor says was originally supposed to be five of the district’s middle schools, helping to coach principals and assistant superintendents. In March, CMS sought to expand that contract to $500,000, in part because the company had expanded its work to additional schools and was seeking to expand services to additional days, McGregor said. She said by the end of the school year, the company had worked in 12 schools.
The school board approved that contract extension, but three board members voted against it: Melissa Easley, Lisa Cline and Summer Nunn. Easley questioned whether the contract was worthwhile, noting she’d never heard of the firm in her time as a CMS teacher.
“The significant sum of this could be better utilized in ways that would provide tangible and immediate benefits for our students,” Easley said at the time. “If this was meant for SEL (Social emotional learning), then our schools desperately need more social workers, counselors and psychologists.”
A document attached to the board agenda shows several board members asked extensive questions about the contract amendment prior to the meeting. Easley also questioned the firm’s ties to Raki McGregor. Raki McGregor was the chief executive-in-residence at CMS – a business executive who had his own CMS consulting contract through the Charlotte Executive Leadership Council to advise the district as a member of the superintendent’s cabinet.
Raki McGregor is also Kim McGregor’s husband.
At the time, the district noted that SYDKIMYL has been a CMS vendor partner since 2019, and that Raki McGregor didn’t begin his consultancy until 2022. CMS also told the Charlotte Observer in May that the contract had been cleared by its Office of General Counsel and Office of Compliance.
But in July, this connection came under scrutiny again after the Charlotte Ledger reported on Raki McGregor’s public support for two school board candidates: Charlitta Hatch and Anna London. Hatch and London were running for the seats occupied by Easley and Summer Nunn, two of the three candidates who voted against his wife’s SYDKIMYL contract (Nunn has announced she is not seeking re-election).
That raised questions about whether the endorsements were some sort of political payback and whether it’s appropriate for a high-level CMS consultant with close ties to the superintendent to get publicly involved in a school board race.
Raki McGregor is no longer the chief executive-in-residence – his term ended July 31 and he decided not to pursue another one. He does, however, hold a position with SYDKIMYL.
Raki McGregor and Kim told WFAE there was nothing improper in any of their work with the district. Kim McGregor said her firm’s work was independent from her husband. Raki McGregor argued SYDKIMYL was being unfairly targeted despite showing positive results in tough, Title I schools that are historically low-performing.
“It’s disappointing to me that we're not focused on outcomes,” McGregor said. “That we're not focused on what's best for the kids.”
The question-and-answer document attached to the agenda for the March meeting showed CMS did provide the board with some data showing improvements in most areas where SYDKIMYL was working — particularly in reading. But that data only covered part of the year. Kim told me she’s expecting to have evidence of significant growth next week when CMS unveils its year-end test scores from last year.
“I think my work speaks for itself, and when these other outcomes come out in another couple of weeks, my company will continue to hold its own and speak for itself,” Kim McGregor said.
In response to questions from WFAE, CMS said the consultant has helped the district and defended the decision to re-sign SYDKIMYL to a contract. CMS also said more evidence of the firm’s efficacy would come out when the year-end test results are released Sept. 3.
“Middle School Assistant Superintendents continue to collaborate with SYDKIMYL, a partnership that has contributed to historic academic gains across our K-8 and Middle Schools,” the district said.
In response to concerns about Raki McGregor’s involvement in school board elections, he conceded that administrators and administrative staff typically remain neutral in elections. But he argued he was a consultant, not an employee of CMS. That meant there was a “distinct difference” in his case.
“As a citizen of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, can I exercise my rights?” he said. “Absolutely. And I did, and I will continue to do that.”
He denied that school members’ votes on the SYDKIMYL contract factored into his decision on who to endorse. He said he’s friends with the candidates he supported – Charlitta Hatch, who’s challenging Easley, and Anna London, who’s running for the seat left by Summer Nunn, who’s not seeking re-election. London is the CEO of Charlotte Works, where Raki serves as board chair.
He also said he made his decision because he believed that some board members are not as supportive of the superintendent as others.
“I've been at almost every board meeting,” Raki McGregor said. “And there is a history that certain board members have had in not supporting the superintendent, who I think is doing a phenomenal job. Because of that dissonance, that I have exhausted myself to understand, I believe that it's impacting our youth.”
Easley, Nunn and Cline have in the past voted down other district initiatives – including last year’s budget.
“I stand by what I said and what I questioned,” Easley told the Ledger in July. “I will continue to question our budget and our line items to make sure we are using our tax dollars effectively.”
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