How it unfolded: A timeline of CMS Superintendent Crystal Hill’s leave and return
Superintendent Crystal Hill returned to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools on Wednesday, nearly two months after the Board of Education placed her on paid leave and hired an outside law firm to investigate her administration.
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Board Chair Stephanie Sneed said the review “identified issues that will require ongoing attention as it relates to leadership and operational practices” and that the board will “address these issues directly with Dr. Hill.” She declined to say how members voted on either the suspension or the reinstatement, or to detail the “multiple allegations” the outside investigation examined.
What is on the public record, according to reporting by The Charlotte Observer, is a paper trail of more than $1.7 million in contracts with Hill’s former Cabarrus County Schools colleagues, a 7% raise that took effect while she was on leave and pointed criticism from teachers and a former board member about a leadership culture they describe as top-down.
Here is how the past two months unfolded.
Weeks before any public announcement, the board’s contract with law firm Brooks Pierce took effect. Records later showed the firm would bill $275 an hour for a “confidential privileged investigation related to an employment matter,” with public relations consultants at Fitzpatrick Communications authorized to bill up to $450 an hour.
The board announced Hill was on paid leave pending an investigation into “matters involving administrative and operational oversight.” Deputy Superintendent Melissa Balknight assumed additional responsibilities. The board did not publicly vote on the action.
Public records confirmed the hourly rates, though the contract included no total estimate. Brooks Pierce noted its rate was “a substantial discount” from its regular fees.
The Observer identified more than $1.7 million in CMS contracts since 2023 with three former Cabarrus colleagues of Hill’s: HayMag Consulting (owned by former Cabarrus Superintendent Christopher Lowder, more than $512,000); Red Educational Consulting (Glenda Jones, more than $1.01 million for HR coaching); and Grace Educational Consulting (Lynn Rhymer, $180,000). Most individual contracts fell below the $250,000 threshold that would have required full board approval.
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Hill’s 7% raise — approved by the board in December and retroactive to Dec. 1 — kicked in after Gov. Josh Stein signed the state budget. Her base salary rose from $318,270 to $340,700, lifting her monthly check from $26,522.50 to $28,397.50.
At a virtual special meeting, the board went into closed session and did not return to open session. Sneed told the Observer the board expected the review to conclude “within the next few weeks” and would provide a public update before school started Aug. 25.
Following a roughly four-hour closed session, the board issued an email just before midnight affirming its commitment to a “timely resolution.” No board members were available to reporters afterward.
After another closed session preceding the regular board meeting, Sneed read a statement announcing Hill’s return.
“What matters is that we have come to a decision, and we stand together as a board,” Sneed said. “We’re ready to move forward.”
What the board will actually change — how it will “address these issues directly” with Hill, whether consulting spending will be reined in, whether teacher voices will regain a channel to leadership — remains, for now, the work that veteran educators say they will be watching most closely.
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