CHARLOTTE – The FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have confirmed an active investigation related to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, adding a federal inquiry to ongoing state reviews while officials have disclosed few details.
WFAE reported Monday that Lia Bantavani, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, confirmed the two federal agencies “have had an active investigation related to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.” Bantavani said officials could not provide more information because the investigation is ongoing.
WBTV separately reported that an FBI public affairs officer confirmed the agency and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are examining a matter related to the school district. Federal officials did not say when the inquiry began, what transactions or conduct it concerns, or whether any person or organization is a target.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education told WFAE it was aware of the federal investigation and would seek to cooperate if asked. The board declined further comment.
The federal confirmation follows several state-level reviews. The Mecklenburg County district attorney has asked the State Bureau of Investigation to examine reports of alleged financial irregularities involving the district. State Auditor Dave Boliek has also opened an investigation, while the State Board of Education and Department of Public Instruction have said they will coordinate with authorized state and local inquiries.
Those state reviews concern allegations, not established findings. The federal agencies have not publicly tied their investigation to any specific state inquiry, and the FBI’s confirmation did not identify a subject or alleged offense.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is North Carolina’s second-largest school district. Its size and use of public education funds give the investigations consequences beyond the district, including potential state oversight decisions and public confidence in how school money is managed.
The district’s official media room listed an Oct. 2 statement about cooperation with state investigations but did not carry a separate federal-investigation release as of Tuesday morning.
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Photo Credit: Myers Park High School office building in Charlotte, photographed by Halo7117; Wikimedia Commons, public domain (PD-self). Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MyersParkHigh2008.jpeg. Original 3072 x 2304 pixels.
Editor’s Note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.