Balknight steps up with Hill on leave. Take a look at recent CMS superintendents
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Deputy Superintendent Dr. Melissa Balknight will step up to cover district responsibilities with Superintendent Dr. Crystal Hill placed on paid leave, according to a statement released Wednesday.
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Hill’s contract as superintendent runs until June 30, 2029. Hill’s paid leave comes amidst “an investigation into matters involving administrative and operational oversight,” according to the release.
Hill is the fifth person to fill the role of district superintendent, including interim selections, in the past 10 years. CMS is the 16th largest public school system in the United States and the second largest in North Carolina.
This temporary leave continues a pattern of change in top-level district leadership. Success is not possible under constant top-level change, said Greg Asciutto, executive director of CharlotteEAST.
“Stability is the biggest indicator of student success at the teacher level, the school level and the superintendent level,” Asciutto told The Charlotte Observer.
The CMS Board of Education appointed Hill to the position in July 2023, officially dropping the “interim” designation after a six-month stint. She became the first Black female superintendent in district history and has seen students achieve faster than average academic growth. Her budget proposal being rejected by the school board this year was the first real sign of tension between Hill and the board during her tenure.
Balknight began her career as a middle school teacher and has held a variety of district leadership roles since.
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Here’s a look at who else has held the position, both interim and fully titled, over the past 10 years.
Clark joined CMS in 1983 and spent 34 years working as a teacher of handicapped children at Devonshire Elementary and later in administrative roles across Charlotte, including previous roles as the district’s chief academic officer and deputy superintendent. She became superintendent in January 2015, making her the district’s first woman to hold the title. Although originally appointed to serve only 18 months, until 2016, the board voted in February of that year to extend her role by another year, until June 2017.
Wilcox assumed the role of superintendent on July 1, 2017, following a search. Prior to that, he worked for six years as the superintendent for the Washington County Public School System in Hagerstown, Maryland. He resigned on August 2, 2019, after a closed session two weeks prior. Toward the end of his tenure, he faced criticism for violating district policy in his decision to not fingerprint new hires and for bringing in former colleagues from Maryland at higher salaries. He was later accused of making racist and sexist comments.
On the same day as Wilcox’s resignation, the board quickly and unanimously hired Earnest Winston as his replacement with a three-year contract. At the time of his appointment, Winston became CMS’s fifth superintendent in eight years. He held various positions with CMS dating back to 2004, including chief engagement officer before his promotion to superintendent. Following a poor 2020-21 performance evaluation, the board fired Winston in April 2022. An investigation by the board also raised issues with Winston’s lack of support for low-performing schools and lack of response to a Title IX investigation, among other concerns.
Hattabaugh served as interim superintendent for just eight months. Having previously served as interim superintendent in 2011 between the tenures of Peter Gorman and Heath E. Morrison, the board unanimously selected him to replace Winston in April 2022. Although his contract was set to run through June 30, 2023, he stepped down due to family obligations in December 2022. The Board voted that same month to bring Hill on as the next interim superintendent, and she started her role January 2023.
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Observer reporter Nora O’Neill contributed.
