CMS board votes to release report about Superintendent Crystal Hill investigation
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools board members voted Tuesday to release a report detailing the findings of this summer’s investigation into Superintendent Crystal Hill. Six members voted in favor while three abstained.
Read more What are the worst traffic signals in Charlotte? Help us find out.
District 1 board member Charlitta Hatch proposed a motion at Tuesday’s regular board meeting to release a detailed report of the findings and causes of this summer’s investigation, which launched June 17 when Hill was placed on paid leave. So far, the board has remained tight-lipped about the circumstances that led to the probe and what it found, despite voting to reinstate Hill Aug. 11.
“Confidentiality does not have to mean silence,” Hatch said Tuesday. “Accountability is not just about completing an investigation but also relating what we learned.”
The summary report is expected to come out before the end of September, Hatch said. It will include details about the investigation process, lessons learned and recommended improvements.
Hatch, along with board members Shamaiye Haynes, Cynthia Stone, Liz Monterrey Duvall, Anna London and Dee Rankin voted to release the report. Board members Monty Witherspoon, Stephanie Sneed and Lenora Shipp abstained.
“I believe our constituents deserve to have as much information as possible so they can have as much trust in the school system as possible,” Monterrey Duvall said.
Hatch told the Observer Friday she planned to ask the board to release the information in order to “close the loop” for the public.
“My position is that, within the boundaries of the law, we should err on the side of giving the public more information, not less,” she said.
Board members who did not vote for the motion said they had concerns about what will be shared and whether it falls within the bounds of the law.
“I’m abstaining because today is the first conversation we’ve really had about it,” board member Monty Witherspoon said. “I want to fully understand what is involved in this.”
Read more Tree limb falls, killing SC woman at I-77 Welcome Center in North Carolina, EMS says
However, Witherspoon said he is “100% for full transparency” and believes the board should have already made a statement.
Hatch said she wants the board to work together to determine the particulars of the report in the coming weeks. Other members agreed.
“The purpose of this motion is not to put the report together today,” Vice Chair Rankin said. “The purpose of this is to say we agree that information should be released.”
When the Observer asked Board Chair Sneed why she abstained, she said she felt it was best she “maintain neutrality” as chair.
“I’ve been the face of this as I’ve had to repeatedly speak about the investigation, so I just entered into a space of neutrality on that,” Sneed said.
Thus far, the board hasn’t said specifically what findings the investigation yielded or what the district will do differently in the future. Previously, Sneed told reporters, “The review identified issues that will require ongoing attention as it relates to leadership and operational practices.” The board would “address these issues directly with Dr. Hill,” she said.
The district paid law firm Brooks Pierce $275 an hour to conduct the probe. The district has not yet answered the Observer’s Aug. 11 records request for the total amount paid to the firm for the two-month-long investigation.
According to state law, most contents of district employees’ personnel files are not considered public record. Therefore, the release of the investigation’s findings required the board’s explicit approval.
But it’s not an unprecedented move: After the CMS board voted 7-2 to dismiss former CMS Superintendent Ernest Winston in 2022, it also chose to release some of Winston’s personnel records, including a poor 2021-22 performance review.
Read more What to know about the Romo fallout at CBS and all the network NFL changes
This story was originally published August 25, 2026 at 8:14 PM.
