The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education will vote Tuesday on whether to release parts of its investigation into Superintendent Crystal Hill to the public.
Board member Charlitta Hatch requested the motion. She told WFAE on Saturday that the goal is "release everything that we legally can release," including "the communication, the process, the timeline, the methodology that we took, what we learned, how much it cost, all while thinking about, what are some of the improvements that we can make as a result of this investigation."
Hatch said she was frustrated that the board was unable to share regular updates to the public over the course of the probe, but now that it's over she believes transparency is needed to earn the trust of the community.
"If people can see why you've made the decisions you made, and how you got there, eventually, I believe there will be an increased trust in the school board," she said.
Board member Shamaiye Haynes told WFAE she intends to support the motion. She believes the board has a duty as a public body to be as transparent as possible.
“As a school board member, I’m responsible for the public having the information that they should in fact have,” Haynes said. “And I know it’s frustrating that we can’t give personnel information. But I do think it’s important for the public to know that we are not being petty or it’s not a personal thing.”
A source familiar with the language of the motion told WFAE that it would instruct the board’s acting general counsel to prepare a report on all results of the investigation that can legally be released.
The motion would also direct the report to include an analysis of the process, including why the board launched the investigation, how it was handled and whether the board was appropriately transparent.
Hatch said she believes all the board members agree in the importance of transparency, but the discussion may focus on how they each define transparency.
"What does that look like? How much do we share and what do we share? And it'll be based off kind of guidance and perspective that folks have," she said.
If approved, Hatch says she hopes the report would be presented at the next board meeting, which would be Sept. 8.
