This story appeared first as part of WFAE Politics Reporter Steve Harrison's weekly newsletter Inside Politics.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board made a stunning decision last week, firing Superintendent Crystal Hill in a 5-4 vote.

The termination sent shock waves through Mecklenburg County and the state, coming just five weeks after a board-led investigation cleared Hill of wrongdoing, and a week after Hill sent a 200-page document to the board detailing allegations of financial irregularities related to former board chair Stephanie Sneed.

The firing raises a host of questions, which may be answered by the State Bureau of Investigation. This newsletter will focus on two specific legal issues about the termination.

1. Was Hill acting as a whistleblower when she sent board members – her bosses – that memo detailing questionable $30,000 monthly payments to consultant Raki McGregor, which Hill says were approved without her knowledge?
2. Does the ability to terminate the superintendent for convenience absolve the board of responsibility for possibly violating Hill’s protected employment rights?

To fire Hill, Sneed and four other board members relied on the superintendent’s contract, which allows her to be terminated “for convenience” in exchange for one year’s salary. That’s about $340,000.

The “for convenience” clause allows the board to remove the superintendent if things just aren’t working out. Perhaps it’s a personality clash. There are many possible reasons, and the...

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