‘Wounds are pretty raw.’ Should CMS actually wait to hire a new superintendent?
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is searching for a new superintendent at a moment when the job may be harder to sell to qualified candidates than it was three years ago.
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The school board will replace Crystal Hill after firing her in a 5-4 vote Sept. 22. The search is unfolding amid federal, state and local investigations into district finances and contracts, departures from the senior leadership team and continued divisions on the board over how CMS should move forward. Some current and former board members have argued CMS should slow the search, giving the district time to resolve investigations and rebuild trust before selecting its next superintendent.
Former school board member Summer Nunn, who chaired the committee overseeing CMS’ 2023 superintendent search, said the district still has plenty to offer. Academic results have improved, she said, and candidates in the last search were drawn to Charlotte’s schools, families and community support. CMS also offers the scale and visibility of one of the country’s largest school systems.
“Underneath all of this was actually a lot of really positive momentum,” Nunn said. “There’s a lot that’s attractive about the district for a potential candidate.”
But there’s a complication.
“The thing that’s unattractive,” Nunn said, “is the board.”
Even for a district accustomed to leadership turnover, CMS is entering its latest superintendent search at an unusually unsettled moment.
Hill’s firing came weeks after the board reinstated her following a lengthy outside investigation. That review found no improper conduct by Hill but identified areas where district operations could be strengthened. Since then, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the State Bureau of Investigation, the state auditor and the State Board of Education have become involved in reviews or investigations related to alleged financial irregularities at CMS.
The board split over whether it was ready to begin searching for Hill’s successor. When members approved a four-person search committee Sept. 29, Monty Witherspoon and Charlitta Hatch voted “no” and argued the board first needed to address questions about its own governance and public trust. Board Chair Gregory “Dee” Rankin said those efforts could happen alongside the search.
“I understand that this is an initial step, but it signals the wrong thing to the community, just coming off of a termination and so many other factors, that I think we just need to pause,” Witherspoon said.
Former Board Chair Elyse Dashew said prospective superintendents will be watching how the board handles that uncertainty.
“Possible candidates watch your board meeting, and they follow the news in your area in order to get a feel of ‘What kind of board am I going to be working for? What kind of a community?’” she said.
Dashew chaired the board during the transition that preceded the 2023 search. At the time, she said, candidates saw a board that worked to establish common priorities and clearer expectations for how members and the superintendent would work together. Some candidates told the board that its operating procedures — which spelled out roles and processes for handling disagreements — were appealing, she said.
The current moment looks different.
“I can imagine that superintendents would be cautious about wanting to step up and apply,” Dashew said. “There is so much uncertainty with all the different investigations.”
She said the current divisions on the board could be repaired, but candidates considering the job would still be seeing a governing body in the middle of that process.
“The wounds are pretty raw right now,” Dashew said. “I think at this moment in time, it’s gonna be tough to recruit a strong candidate pool.”
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National superintendent groups have warned that board behavior can directly affect a district’s candidate pool. The School Superintendents Association says candidates look closely at how boards handle disagreement, whether members act professionally and how they work with the superintendent. Candidates may “take great pause” when a board is visibly divided.
The district’s 2023 search drew 49 applicants from 18 states, including 19 sitting superintendents. CMS ultimately interviewed six semifinalists after hiring BWP & Associates to recruit candidates and help manage the process.
Nunn said that pool was stronger than she expected, particularly because many high-performing sitting superintendents were willing to apply.
Both former board members said the board’s conduct during the search will matter.
Nunn questioned whether CMS needs to move quickly while investigations remain unresolved, particularly now that acting Superintendent Melissa Balknight has agreed to remain beyond her previously planned Jan. 1 retirement while the search continues. CMS announced Thursday that Balknight will stay until a permanent superintendent is hired.
“I would encourage them to wait so it doesn’t discourage (candidates) from applying,” Nunn said.
She said unresolved investigations could leave applicants with “a lot of question marks about what’s really happening.”
Nunn also urged the board to preserve candidate confidentiality, arguing that strong sitting superintendents may be unwilling to publicly identify themselves as applicants and risk their current jobs. CMS used a confidential process in 2023 for the same reason.
Most importantly, she said, candidates will judge the board by how its members cooperate with each other throughout the process.
“Right now on the surface (board members) don’t appear to be in sync and in it for the right reasons,” Nunn said. “Somehow they’re going to have to flip that, and I think how they decide to do the search, and then how they behave through the search process with the candidates is also very important.”
Dashew similarly said CMS still has major advantages: improving academic results, strong educators and principals, extensive community and corporate support and Charlotte itself.
But she said the board still has internal work to do before it can present the kind of draw that attracted candidates three years ago.
“I just think the current atmosphere is one of strong emotions,” Dashew said. “There’s quite a bit of work to do before the board gets to a more cohesive place.”
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