The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education is moving to formally dissolve its Office of Compliance and Ethics, which was created in 2019 after the ousting of two superintendents in five years and scrutiny over a contract signed under former Superintendent Clayton Wilcox.
A board committee voted last week to recommend retiring the 2019 policy that created the Office of Compliance. The head of that office, the chief compliance officer, reported directly to the board, not CMS administration.
But board vice chair Dee Rankin told WFAE the previous compliance officer was moved to a different position in the district, the position was eliminated as part of a board restructuring, and the duties of the office were shifted to another that also reports directly to the board: the Office of General Counsel.
“Some of those duties fall in line with what the general counsel already does and we felt you know, for us to be more effective and efficient, that it would be best for us to move those duties to the Office of General Counsel,” Rankin said.
“Those duties are still independent of the district. Nothing really changes other than where they lie.”
The board is currently looking for a new General Counsel after Andre Mayes retired in January. Rankin declined to give a timeline on that but suggested that the board would probably use a search firm and start that process “sooner rather than later.” Mayes departed with one year’s salary as severance, amounting to $289,430, according to an agreement obtained in a public records request.
Over the years, there had been questions about the functions of the Office of Compliance. Previous board members had questioned its purpose when it was first created. Among other things, when it was created, it was said the office would be able to investigate allegations of misconduct leveled against the superintendent, general counsel and other cabinet-level staff.
And when the board decided to investigate former Superintendent Earnest Winston in 2022, it hired an outside firm to conduct the investigation instead of turning to the office, with officials at the time noting the office was more about educating officials than conducting investigations.
Rankin said the decision will go before the full board for a first reading at next week’s school board meeting, followed by a public hearing and a full board vote in April.
