Sneed steps down as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools chair before vote to oust her
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Chair Stephanie Sneed resigned from her position leading the board Tuesday. Members were scheduled to vote on whether to oust Sneed from her leadership position.
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Sneed had served as chair since taking office in 2023. She is expected to remain on the board, though she will no longer serve as its leader. Her current term representing district 4 covering east Charlotte ends in 2029.
Her resignation came on the heels of several bombshell allegations last week: A CMS employee claimed Sneed directed her to push through $30,000 monthly payments to a vendor who did not have an official contract with the district, and CMS Superintendent Crystal Hill accused the board of “extortion.”
Dee Rankin ran Tuesday’s meeting as chair. The board did not address Sneed’s resignation or Rankin’s elevation to chair until it brought forward a vote to terminate Hill later in the meeting. Board member Shamaiye Haynes said Sneed had resigned.
Liz Monterrey Duvall, an at-large board member, was elected the new board vice chair.
Haynes nominated Monterrey Duvall. Board member Monty Witherspoon nominated Lenora Shipp for vice chair.
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Four members voted for Shipp, while five members voted for Monterrey Duvall.
Tuesday’s vote on Sneed’s fate was originally placed on the agenda after three board members requested it: Cynthia Stone of District 5, at-large board member Monty Witherspoon, and at-large board member Lenora Shipp.
At the time, Sneed told board members she was subject to “targeting, bullying, discrimination, harassment and retaliation in connection with (her) service on the board,” in an email Sept. 11.
Sneed released a statement to The Charlotte Observer’s news partner WSOC-TV shortly before the meeting began, outlining her accomplishments as chair. She said she believes the district’s accomplishments have been overshadowed by the recent controversies.
“Every decision I have made has been centered on children,” she wrote. “That is why I am disappointed by where our attention has gone since the school year began… Too much of the public conversation has been reduced to a narrative of ‘adults behaving badly.’”
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This is a developing story that will be updated.
This story was originally published September 22, 2026 at 7:32 PM.
