Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has picked an outside firm to handle financial management and budget work as chief financial officer Kelly Kluttz retires Dec. 31. The district says savings from vacant senior jobs will pay for it.
The firm is HIL Group (Hurd, Isenhour & Lopes). The first agreement runs four months, and any extension needs both sides to agree and the board to approve it, CMS said in a statement sent at 10:21 p.m. ET Tuesday, Nov. 10. CMS has not said when HIL starts or what it will be paid.
CMS said the money is already in the district's 2026–27 budget and that "No additional funding is required."
CMS said HIL has "decades of experience supporting North Carolina school districts" and recently assisted Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools and Gaston County Schools with similar leadership changes. The district picked the firm after a request for information, a step in which a district asks firms what they offer before choosing one.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2027, an unnamed CMS employee will receive the finance officer designation the statement says is required by statute, while continuing their current responsibilities. That person will not take on the full duties of chief financial officer or receive a CFO salary. Chief of Strategy and Innovation Beth Thompson will coordinate budget communications with the board and the public.
Kluttz presented the district's 2026–27 budget to the board in March. She leaves while the board is still looking for a new superintendent. It voted 5-4 on Sept. 22 to fire Superintendent Crystal Hill and has since created a search committee; Melissa Balknight is acting superintendent.
The board's agenda lists a budget workshop for Thursday, Nov. 19.