Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Crystal Hill’s budget proposal still features some uncertainty two weeks before a school board vote, in large part due to the lack of a state budget.
There was a common theme in Tuesday night’s public feedback on the CMS 2026-27 budget proposal: The budget is tight, and the state needs to do more. Some, like Ayumi Durden, said it was incumbent on the board to advocate more at the state level.
“Families and educators are showing up to these meetings to ask you to fight harder,” Durden said. “That should not be our role. We are here because we are not hearing enough urgency, not seeing enough pressure and not feeling enough advocacy from the people we trusted and elected to represent us.”
Hill also pointed to deficiencies in state funding and the lack of a state budget. She noted that many teaching positions are funded by local county dollars. If the state was the sole source of funding, the district would only have 89% of its current teaching positions and 60% of its current instructional support positions — such as psychologists, counselors, media specialists and others.
“This is where I become very concerned, and candidly, frustrated, with the lack of funding that our state is providing,” Hill said.
CMS has cut central office positions and other vacant positions or moved positions around to find savings that could cushion against state budget uncertainty. The district is also planning to hire 200 fewer employees to accommodate for a slight enrollment decline. The board is set to vote on the $2.1 billion spending plan on April 28.