Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board doubles down on secret records

WBTV Investigation uncovered records CMS said for years didn’t exist

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (HERE News) – A lawyer for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education doubled down on a claim by the board’s general counsel that records detailing reports of sexual violence did not exist. WBTV first requested the records in June 2021 as part of an ongoing investigation into how the school district handles reported rapes and sexual assaults.

Contradictory Claims

In response to the station’s request, the district produced a one page document with aggregate numbers. The document claimed just one reported rape at all CMS schools over a ten-year period. Later, the district’s general counsel, Andre Mayes, submitted a sworn affidavit in which she said the district did not withhold any records responsive to WBTV’s June 2021 request for detailed sex assault data.

Mayes’ claim was supported by affidavits from two other CMS employees who said all records responsive to WBTV’s request for detailed data had been produced. The affidavits were submitted as part of a lawsuit brought by WBTV against the school district contending CMS violated the N.C. Public Records Act by withholding documents.

Surprising Revelation

Earlier this month WBTV published nearly 200 pages of records, obtained from confidential source, detailing reported rapes and sexual assaults at CMS campuses; those records are responsive to WBTV’s initial request in 2021. A CMS spokesperson has declined to comment on why the district claimed the records didn’t exist.

Mayes—the board’s lawyer who claimed under oath there were no records—refused to answer questions on-camera when approached by a WBTV reporter. But a lawyer for the board wrote an email on Tuesday doubling down on the claim made by Mayes in her sworn affidavit.

Board’s Response

“All affidavits submitted by individuals were true and accurate,” CMS attorney Hope Root wrote in an email as part of the ongoing legal proceedings between the district and WBTV. In her email, Root said she was responding on behalf of the school board.

Multiple sources with knowledge of the board’s plans tell WBTV members of the school board will meet for the first time discuss WBTV’s report and the ongoing lawsuit in closed session on Tuesday afternoon. Root’s email on Tuesday is the first indication that school board members have chosen to double down on the district’s position that previous statements made by CMS employees and its general counsel about the detailed sexual assault records were true and accurate and that the detailed records uncovered by WBTV should remain secret.

Conclusion

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