CMS paid $25,000 speaker fee for event. Where was the contract?
Editor’s note: This story has been updated. Hours after initial publication, CMS officials provided a copy of the contract.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials said they did not have a copy of the contract the district signed agreeing to pay $25,000 to Ibram X. Kendi for a recent keynote address to CMS staff.
Although some Republican politicians have seized on Critical Race Theory and CMS’ hosting of Kendi — accusing local leaders of “embracing a discriminatory ideology” — what’s been shared from the professor’s talk shows little time spent on that topic.
Still, most members of the public have been unable to view the 44-minute-long interview with Kendi that CMS Foundation Director Sonja Gantt conducted.
Two weeks ago, after the Observer followed up on a request for video of Kendi’s virtual appearance, the district cited the contract as a reason for not releasing the footage.
“The recording or transcript is not available due to a contractual agreement with the speaker bureau,” said Brian Hacker, a spokesman, in an email.
Days later, CMS said it would release the recording to individuals who asked for it but warned distribution could lead to copyright infringement.
It’s unclear whether CMS’ contract for Kendi’s appearance bars the district from sharing the recording beyond the private YouTube link officials employed in an attempt to satisfy public records requests earlier this month. Due to the district’s release on a private channel, the Observer is unable to make the entire video readily available to the public.
The Observer, through multiple public records requests, has requested a copy of CMS’ contract with Kendi.
After more than two weeks since the first request, district officials had not released the contract. Under North Carolina public records law, the contract must be shared when requested but public agencies like school districts have leeway in how promptly they respond.
Asked why there had been a delay, officials told the Observer the district didn’t have a copy of the contract to share.
“As soon as they do and it is reviewed by public records staff they will provide the document,” said Patrick Smith, a district spokesman.
Late Monday, after this story was published, the district provided the contract to the Observer.
Records are ‘property of the people’
Kendi addressed more than 800 district and school leaders focused on a platform of anti-racism and diversity. Kendi’s book, “How to Be an Antiracist,” was a key study point for administrators over the past year. The politicians, N.C. Sen. Phil Berger and Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, claimed: “This is the state’s second-largest school district embracing a discriminatory ideology by paying $25,000 to learn from (Critical Race Theory’s) most prominent adherent.”
Berger and Robinson appear to have issued the press release without hearing any part of Kendi’s presentation to CMS leaders. After CMS released the video recording to news reporters and others who requested it, Berger’s office did not respond to a request for comment. The joint press release cited a two-page purchase order from March with limited information other than the cost and speech date.
During Kendi’s CMS address, Critical Race Theory was specifically discussed for less than two minutes, a review by the Observer shows.
”In North Carolina, government records are the ‘property of the people’ and should be provided promptly on request,” said Kym Hunter, the president of the NC Open Government Coalition. “Whatever our political and policy divides are on certain subjects we can only achieve understanding and trust in our government when there is full transparency.
“When a school district spends taxpayer dollars on programming, the public interest in related records is compelling.”
Taxpayers spend nearly $2 million for “communication services” from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools that are often failing to provide public records or request for statements from school officials.
According to the 2021-22 schools budget proposal, the CMS communications team, in part, is responsible for providing employees with timely information, encourage and coordinate news coverage with media, arrange staff interviews and provide responses to requests for information “to promote full public understanding of CMS issues, policies and accomplishments.”
The CMS Summer Leadership Conference was held June 16-17. It included messages from the superintendent, instructional-focused professional development and non-instructional choice sessions on topics such as “Historical Perspectives of Institutional Racism” and “Wellness and Success through Equitable Environments.”
This story was originally published July 12, 2021 at 3:36 PM.
