North Carolina State Auditor Dave Boliek arrived unannounced at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools headquarters Wednesday, Sept. 23. He confirmed his office is investigating alleged financial irregularities at the state's second-largest school district.

Boliek told reporters his team has spent three weeks working with CMS staff, reviewing financial records, budgets and contracts. He said his office received a large batch of data and documents during the week and praised CMS staff for cooperating, according to WHQR.

"I'm here hopefully to help calm the chaos and to let the public know that the state auditor's office is here and we're working with Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools to answer these tough questions that I know many citizens have," Boliek said.

His visit marks a second state-level investigation into CMS finances. Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather III on Sept. 18 asked the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) to open a formal criminal probe into alleged financial irregularities in CMS transactions spanning fiscal years 2026 and 2027, as the Charlotte Observer reported. Merriweather's request is not limited to a single party or entity, according to his public letter.

Boliek said his office is coordinating with the SBI but stressed the two tracks are distinct. He declined to specify what irregularities he is examining. He did say he has read a memo from fired Superintendent Crystal Hill that leveled accusations at former board chair Stephanie Sneed. He declined to offer a timeline for any report.

Asked whether private companies could face scrutiny, Boliek said state law allows his office to investigate private entities that receive public funds and that he would follow the facts wherever they lead, according to WBTV.

The auditor's visit came one day after the CMS Board of Education voted 5-4 on Tuesday, Sept. 22, to fire Hill "for convenience," meaning no cause was cited. A third-party investigation that cost nearly $380,000 and reviewed 1.5 million documents found no evidence of improper conduct by Hill, according to WHQR.

Hill was not terminated for cause. Under her contract, she will receive about $340,000 in severance.

Board member Monty Witherspoon, who voted to keep Hill, called the board "dysfunctional" and "broken" at the Tuesday meeting. Board member Cynthia Stone also voted against the firing and cited the pending state auditor probe as a reason to keep Hill in place. "We've got non-compliance grievances. We've got SBI, and we've got an audit coming from our state auditor," Stone said at the Sept. 22 board meeting, as WCCB reported. "Just seems to me the wrong time to change horses."

Deputy Superintendent Melissa Balknight was named acting superintendent Tuesday despite having announced her planned retirement days earlier. As we reported Wednesday, Balknight filed her retirement paperwork before the board tapped her for the role. Sneed stepped down as board chair but remains a member. Dee Rankin replaced her as chair, and Liz Duvall was named vice chair.

CMS did not respond to a request for comment on Boliek's visit, WHQR reported. Rankin confirmed he had spoken with Boliek but declined to comment further.

The SBI has not publicly confirmed whether it has accepted the DA's investigation request. Boliek has not set a deadline for his findings.