Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has paused an ongoing compliance assessment after school board members raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest involving a subcontractor connected to the project.
The school board hired law firm Poyner Spruill on a $220,000 contract in the spring to conduct a broad review of district policies and procedures to ensure compliance with state and federal law and minimize legal risk.
Board member Liz Monterrey Duvall provided WFAE with emails from Wednesday that show Anna Hehenberger, the board's acting general counsel, informing Poyner Spruill officials that the board directed her to pause the project “while we review a potential conflict of interest with Qonnect, LLC.”
Qonnect is a consulting firm owned by Raki McGregor, who served as the district’s chief executive in residence last year. Some board members scrutinized McGregor last year over his work with the district, a contract involving his wife’s education consulting company and his political support for school board candidates.
Public records show Qonnect had a $132,000 service agreement with Poyner Spruill. The agreement outlines a scope of services that include advisory services, strategic introductions to decision-makers and guidance on navigating politically sensitive or high-visibility matters.
Poyner Spruill and McGregor did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
But in the emails, Poyner Spruill attorney Katie Cornetto told board members she welcomed the opportunity to address questions or concerns. She added: “The experts retained to support this engagement bring decades of experience in corporate compliance assessment and complement our education law attorneys.”
“Together, this team is well positioned to deliver a thorough and actionable assessment for the board and its oversight of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools,” Cornetto wrote.
Records show Qonnect was also a Poyner Spruill subcontractor on the law firm’s assistance with a CMS project to provide affordable housing for teachers. That contract outlined a $30,000 monthly retainer for Qonnect.
The pause came just days before three board members — Cynthia Stone, Monty Witherspoon and Lenora Shipp — added an agenda item to next week’s board meeting. The item was to consider removing board member Stephanie Sneed as chair, citing “information brought to the board.”
Brett Jensen of WBT Radio previously reported that concerns about contracts with McGregor prompted the motion. Stone did not respond to a request for comment on whether the “potential conflict of interest” was related. Sneed did not respond to a request for comment.
Monterrey Duvall, for her part, said she believes the arrangement with Qonnect shows the district might need to reassess how it tracks and discloses its subcontractors but doesn’t believe there was a conflict of interest in this case. Monterrey Duvall said it’s her understanding that Qonnect was acting as a pass-through entity to pay other consultants who worked on the project.
Monterrey Duvall also told WFAE that she supports Sneed as chair. That puts her alongside Dee Rankin, Shamaiye Haynes and Charlitta Hatch, who have said they back Sneed. Including Sneed, they'd have the majority of the vote.
