This article originally appeared in WFAE reporter Ann Doss Helms' weekly education newsletter. To get the latest school news in your inbox first, sign up for our email newsletters here.
Watching the final days of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent search play out last week was like watching someone stumble just before reaching the end of a marathon.
The school board clearly took this task seriously. It did two full rounds of public engagement, worked with a search firm and an academic consultant, and spent long hours interviewing the best of what was described as a stellar crop of candidates from across the country. Members knew they needed to rebuild confidence in the district. And after forcing out the last three superintendents less than three years after hiring them, a board with five fresh faces wanted to demonstrate that this crew could be a reliable partner.
Which is why last week was such a head-scratcher. Monday brought a closed meeting to review “opposition research” on what Summer Nunn, chair of the search committee, said was one preferred finalist. On Tuesday she said the board had not made a final selection and was working through “due diligence.” And on Friday the board went into closed session for about 25 minutes, then emerged to vote 6-3 to hire Interim Superintendent Crystal Hill to lead the district, with a four-year contract providing $328,800 in annual compensation. The board adjourned without comment, and without offering any kind of acknowledgment to Hill, who sat on the dais with them.
To be clear, it’s neither surprising nor disturbing that board members had differences of opinion about the best person for the job, especially if the field was as strong as the consultants and board members have reported. And in general I think it’s good for dissent to be aired publicly; it helps the public understand the factors being weighed in tough decisions.
But the board’s agreement to honor confidentiality for anyone not chosen as superintendent means that Nunn, Lisa Cline and Jennifer De La Jara can’t tell us who they preferred and why — though you can bet that the local grapevine will be abuzz with speculation and whispers.
We’re left to wonder: Was Hill the first choice, and something that turned up on the deep background search gave three members pause? Was there another favorite who had skeletons in the closet and the majority shifted to Hill? And most important: Will the full board and the community those members represent rally behind Hill?
It’s also worth noting that Hill’s four-year contract requires only a 90-day payout if the board decides it’s not working out. That’s similar to what Earnest Winston initially got when he was hired without a search in 2019, though his initial contract only offered 60 days’ pay if he was fired for convenience. In 2021 the board amended that to provide two years’ pay … and in 2022 the board had to pay him almost $577,000 over the next two years when seven members decided he wasn’t the right leader for CMS. So it’s arguably wise for the board to avoid that kind of commitment, but it also raises questions about whether they’re sure Hill is the person who can provide a decade or so of stable leadership.
A news conference launches a new leader
A couple of hours later, Hill appeared with Nunn and Vice Chair Stephanie Sneed at an introductory news conference. Sneed introduced Hill as “a proven leader who’s results-driven and committed to doing those things that will change the trajectory for our students.” Nunn said the board is “100% behind Dr. Hill” and the split simply reflected a difference over favorites among good candidates.
Board member Lenora Shipp was in the audience, and Chair Elyse Dashew was isolating after a positive COVID-19 test. The remaining five members, who knows? As of Monday morning, De La Jara and Cline hadn’t responded to my requests for comment.
For the most part, it fell to Hill to sell herself. She talked about her background with several North Carolina school districts, including time as a teacher in Guilford County and a high-level administrator in Mooresville and Cabarrus County school systems. She celebrated County Manager Dena Diorio’s recommendation to fund the district’s request for a 7% funding increase, with much of the money going toward educator raises. She said that signals her ability to build partnerships that benefit students. (Every new superintendent I’ve covered “discovers” the importance of building a good working relationship with the county manager, but Hill is right that a recommendation for full funding is unusual.)
Hill said her achievement so far came “because I prioritize God in my life,” and talked about changes coming for her family. She and her husband planned to talk to a real estate agent this weekend about moving from Cabarrus to Mecklenburg County. They have daughters who will be in ninth and 12th grades next year and will have to find places in CMS schools.
Hill also fielded tough questions. WBTV investigative reporter Nick Ochsner pressed her on parents’ complaints about sexual assault involving their children and the district’s apparent failure to handle those complaints properly, even though Hill was previously assigned to oversee the Title IX program that manages such issues. Hill and Sneed both said they understand it’s a problem when parents feel like they have to seek out reporters to be heard, and vowed that extensive retraining is underway.
WBT radio’s Brett Jensen wanted to know why Hill initially told the board she wouldn’t seek the permanent job. “I never told the board that,” she replied. I don’t know what current or former board members may have told Jensen, but it’s worth noting that when the board hired Hill as interim in December, reporters were told that the contract did not preclude her from applying for the longterm position. I thought it was clear from that point that Hill was interested, even though she talked about focusing on the tasks at hand.
Plenty of challenges ahead
An interesting sidelight at Friday’s news conference came when Ochsner complained that the board had refused to release minutes of closed-session meetings related to the search, as required by law. Charles Jeter, the staffer in charge of government affairs and board services, stepped in to say CMS hadn’t refused, it just hadn’t responded. In fact, he said, the legal department was reviewing and redacting minutes.
The CMS wall of silence is something most education reporters have encountered. It took me a full week to get any information about who did the opposition research for the board (this week Jeter told me the board paid $4,175 to Jackson-Alvarez, a political consulting group based in the D.C. area). Hill talked about the importance of transparency and good communication. She’s got some work to do there, with the added challenge that she does not oversee the legal office, which reports directly to the school board.
And tonight she’ll face more than 40 parents and students who have signed up to speak at a public hearing on Hill’s recommendation for south county school boundaries. Some may be there to say thank you, but many are upset about last-minute changes to the Polo Ridge Elementary zone and other points of tension. Hill said at the news conference that “any time parents are upset that their children are going to be moved to a different school, that signals to me a great sign of support for their school.” She noted that the board will hear the latest concerns and could choose to revise her recommendation before voting in two weeks.
And, of course, the coming months will bring work on a new strategic plan for academic improvements, a massive school bond campaign and a sweeping review of student assignment. Hill also noted that she plans to make changes in top administrative jobs, now that she can offer four-year contracts to match her own.
On a personal note, Hill is the seventh CMS superintendent whose hiring I’ve covered since starting the education beat in 2002. I keep wondering who will be the last. If CMS gets the kind of stability everyone seems to want, Hill just might claim that distinction.
