Former CMS superintendent offered to resign before her firing

CHARLOTTE — A divided school board is now trying to chart a path forward, while parents across Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools weigh how the decision will affect their children. Many have taken to social media to air their grievances. Meanwhile, interim Superintendent Dr. Melissa Balknight steps into the district’s top role with critical issues to address, including late buses that continue to keep students out of class.

Channel 9 learned what happened before the CMS Board of Education decided to abruptly fire now-former Superintendent Crystal Hill on Tuesday.

Hill told the school board during a closed-session meeting on Tuesday night that she would resign immediately if the board would pay her for two years, sources told Channel 9’s Jonathan Lowe.

The School Board denied her offer. Hill returned with a counteroffer and said she would resign at a later date to be determined if the board would pay her for two years, sources said. The board denied that, as well.

RELATED COVERAGE:

Following that, the School Board added an item to its agenda regarding Hill’s employment, which led to a 5-4 vote to terminate her for convenience, which means that they would pay her a year’s salary worth $379,000.

Hill’s termination comes after months of controversy, including an internal investigation into her conduct and allegations she made against the board involving extortion, cronyism and misspending.

In an 18-page report explaining the decision, the district stated: “The review did not find evidence of improper conduct by the superintendent.” The report also said, “The review did not identify conflicts of interest or improper activity related to contracting by the superintendent.”

The report noted the $379,000 investigation amounted to 0.02% of the district’s $2.1 billion budget. Hill was terminated for convenience, making her eligible for a full year of severance pay totaling $341,000.

North Carolina State Auditor Dave Boliek is looking into what he calls irregularities in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district.

Rebuilding public trust

Board members acknowledged during the meeting that rebuilding public trust will be a significant challenge following the decision.

“I’ve seen the district go through changes with superintendents, but this is larger than I’ve seen, this is larger, and I am concerned,” Board member Lenora Shipp said.

It’s now in full public view.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education is fractured.

“Some board members are moving fast and some other are not, I’m not gonna pull any punches, this is a divided board,” Stone said.

Lowe spoke one-on-one Tuesday with Board members Cynthia Stone, Shipp and Dr. Monty Witherspoon.

They are among the four board members who voted against firing Hill.

“Second year in a row, historic gains, and I think, between her return and the governance failure yesterday, was a betrayal of public trust,” Witherspoon said.

They all feel that when Hill was reinstated following her suspension for leadership and oversight concerns, the board mishandled coaching her the way an employer should.

“You have a joint statement that both parties agree on and put that out to the public, to signify how you move forward, that did not happen,” Witherspoon said.

What did happen was Hill speaking out on WFAE radio and then sending board members a scathing memo raising concerns about contracts made by now-former board Chair Stephanie Sneed.

“You have to talk about where mistakes made on both sides, are there missteps, and that’s in any time in an organization,” Shipp said.

It’s that shared blame they say led to them requesting Sneed step down as chair.

“As information was presented to us, I had to say the leadership became in question, and I had to say, I’ve taken an oath, morally and ethically, do I believe this leadership is going to get us where we need to be, are we going to be able to move forward,” Shipp said.

But Tuesday night, once board members told Lowe became apparent that Hill wanted to leave, all three say they wanted more time to negotiate a proper separation agreement.

“I think that was a concern for me, that, as someone who had been through this process I felt like it was rushed, it was rushed,” Shipp said.

The district is now left facing major issues:

Transportation issues
Changes to magnet programs
Student reassignment
The future departure of several executive-level staff, including the superintendent

“I am deeply concerned about who would want to come as a superintendent to this district when clearly the board is dysfunctional; we have a lot of work to do to rebuild within CMS and also trust within the community,” Witherspoon said.

Board member Dee Rankin and other board members who voted to fire Hill told Lowe they are planning to answer questions next Monday after they have a chance to consult with the school board attorney.

In the meantime, Rankin put out a written statement saying, in part, “The work of educating and supporting our students will continue, and our focus must remain firmly on student achievement, safe and supportive learning environments.”

‘Shady’: Frustrated parents sound off over CMS turmoil

Frustrated parents sound off over CMS turmoil

Like many moms in Mecklenburg County, Becca Smoot posted on Facebook Tuesday night about the leadership turmoil in CMS with a message hundreds of people liked.

“And I just think the whole thing was shady,” Smoot said.

Smoot said that there’s more to the story and parents need to hear it.

“I don’t know if Dr. Hill deserves to be there or not,” she said. “I honestly don’t know her. I don’t know if she does. I’ve heard good things. I’ve heard some not great things, right? I’m not there. I can’t make that judgment. But the board made that judgment at the last minute with no notice to anyone. No parents, no taxpayers knew this vote was going to take place. And they did not give time for any public input. So now what you’re getting is public outcry.”

Shock and outrage over what happened echoed on social media.

One mom wrote that she has contacted the district attornry, state representatives, and the state auditor requesting a thorough investigation.

One person watching the school board’s YouTube stream wrote in real time, “You owe the public more than this board is providing. Shame on you!”

Balknight takes over as acting CMS superintendent

Dr. Melissa Balknight is now sitting at the helm of the nation’s 16th-largest school district.

STAFF Balknight has 30 years of public education experience.

She started her career as a middle school teacher and worked into other administrative roles.

Balknight started with CMS in August of 2023.

She led the district over the summer while Hill was on paid leave.

The vote

The school board voted, 5-4, to reinstate Hill before the school year started.

The vote to fire her was also 5-4.

These are the board members who moved to fire Hill: Dee Rankin, Charlitta Hatch, Liz Monterrey Duvall, Shamaiye Haynes and Stephanie Sneed, who stepped down as chair hours before the meeting.

We’re working to find out who changed their vote.

CMS test scores

Despite the uncertainty, students within CMS are performing better year over year.

61% of students were proficient on this year’s state tests, which is a 5% increase over last year.

CMS also graduated the most students in district history, close to 88%.

Five schools were also taken off the low-performing list, meaning they scored better than a D or F.

Staff retention

Staff retention presents another major challenge for the district.

A state report reveals that 21% of CMS principals did not return to their roles last school year, while 15% of teachers left the district.

Additionally, several senior staff members are either retiring or resigning as major changes are planned for the district’s magnet programs.

Transportation issues

Beyond leadership changes, transportation delays remain a primary concern for local families.

Parents have reported that late buses are preventing students from arriving to class on time.

District data indicates that about 84% of students arrive at school on time, but 71% do not return home at their typical drop-off time.

Board members said bus schedules and start times are currently being evaluated across the district.

However, any potential changes to start times cannot be implemented until the next school year.