The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education voted 5-4 Tuesday night to terminate the contract of Superintendent Crystal Hill, ending a long saga of confusion as to who is in charge of the school system, which serves more than 139,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
School board members Charlitta Hatch, Liz Monterrey Duvall, and Shamaiye Haynes voted to remove Hill, joining now-former chair Stephanie Sneed and new chair Dee Rankin.
At-large members Monty Witherspoon and Lenora Shipp were joined by district members Cynthia Stone and Anna London in voting against.
The School Board came to the dais after a long delay, missing the 6:00 PM start time by about half an hour after a scheduled 4:00 PM closed session meeting. Hill was originally at the dais, but left prior to the board returning.
Deputy Superintendent Dr. Melissa Balknight took Hill’s place at the dais. Later that evening, she would be appointed acting superintendent despite her recent announcement that she would retire in four months.
Immediately after coming to the dais, Dee Rankin assumed the role of chair under an obscure, 58-year-old CMS policy that hasn’t been updated since 2002.
Rankin recognized District 1 member Charlitta Hatch to make motions to modify the agenda. The board then voted 5-4 to add multiple agenda items to the agenda, including to terminate Superintendent Crystal Hill for convenience.
On a similar 5-4 vote, at-large member Monterrey Duvall was elected the new vice chair for the board over Shipp.
While Rankin was presiding as chair, but Hatch took the reins for most of the meeting, making motions and guiding the process. She was in favor of terminating the contract.
“There have been a lot of distractions that have been in the media, in the news, and I think that this board needs to take a stand, to say enough is enough,” said Hatch. “We need to have bold changes in order to refocus on what matters.”
“What you’re seeing in Washington is not acceptable here in Charlotte,” Hatch added, comparing recent board turmoil to the Trump administration.
Shamaiye Haynes said the Superintendent has been convicted in the court of the public, and many of the members who voted in favor of the separation voiced their opinion that it was time to move on from months of controversy and recriminations in the press.
“There’s not this much frenzy about student outcomes,” said Sneed. “There’s not this much frenzy about student scholarships.”
Monterrey Duvall seemed to suggest that Hill was also amenable to the termination.
Because the motion was to terminate for convenience, the school system is obligated to pay out all contractual obligations and benefits, including her $340,770 salary over the next year. It may increase to a mid-six-figure payout for Hill when all is tallied.
Monterrey Duvall also tried to salvage the reputation of the system in her remarks, saying, “I don't want us to mistake organizational challenges for institutional failure.”
After a silence, the board members who voted against the motion to terminate had strong words for their colleagues.
“I don’t think this is the time to change horses,” said Stone, referencing a State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) investigation into the board as well as an inquiry from State Auditor Dave Boliek’s office.
With investigations and audits likely looming above the board, Witherspoon was more blunt.
“This board has spiraled into complete chaos,” said Witherspoon. “This board is dysfunctional. This board is broken.”
Given the reaction in the hours since the meeting, Witherspoon was speaking for many more Charlotteans than himself.
Correction: this story originally incorrectly had Rankin resigning as vice chair. An obscure board policy, presented below, states that the vice chair automatically becomes chair upon the vacancy of the chair.
Document: CMS Board Succession
