CMS school board makes Crystal Hill new superintendent, removes interim title

Crystal Hill, a veteran educator who’s served in an interim role since January, will be the new superintendent of the second-largest school system in North Carolina and 17th-largest district in the country.

The CMS Board of Education on Friday voted 6-3 to name Hill its new, permanent superintendent. Hill was the district’s chief of staff before taking the interim role. She’s the first Black female superintendent in the district’s history.

“It opens up an opportunity for me to serve in ways that I’ve not been able to serve before,” an emotional Hill told The Charlotte Observer when asked about her history-making hire. “I’m just grateful to those who have gone before me who have been the first and charted the path. I just hope that I can reflect and be a good role model for our students so they can look at me and say wow, ‘If she can do it, I can do it.’”

The board approved a contract that runs until June 30, 2027. Hill will be paid a base salary of $300,000 in monthly installments of $25,000, her contract states. She’ll receive a monthly transportation stipend of $900, up to $10,000 to move to Mecklenburg County and retirement contributions of $18,000 per year — 6% of Hill’s base salary.

“I’m so grateful and excited to have the opportunity to serve the families, staff and greater Charlotte school community,” Hill said. “I’m grateful for the board’s confidence in me to do this important work.”

Members voting against Hill’s contract included Jennifer De La Jara, Lisa Cline and Summer Nunn, who was chair of the superintendent search committee.

Board members came to their decision after embarking on a monthslong search following the firing of Earnest Winston in April. Winston was hired in 2019 with a base salary of $280,000 and received a raise to $288,400 in 2021.

Hill is the sixth superintendent since 2011, excluding interim leaders. Peter Gorman left the job in 2011. Hugh Hattabaugh then served for a year as interim. Heath Morrison served as superintendent between 2012-2014, followed by Ann Blakeney Clark (2014-1017), Clayton Wilcox (2017-2019) and Winston (2019-2022).

Board member Lenora Shipp called Hill “the jewel that we had among us.”

“I believe she is coming in focused and she’s going to take us in the direction this district needs to go,” Shipp said.

Hill’s track record so far

During her time as interim, Hill presented a 2023-24 operating budget — a $2.1 billion plan to “invest in its people.” The budget proposal sought $596.9 million from Mecklenburg County, an increase of about $39 million, or 7%, over last year’s allocation. County Manager Dena Diorio in her proposal this week fully funded Hill’s request and budgeted for a $2.5 billion bond referendum.

Amanda Thompson and Rae LeGrone of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators wrote a letter to Hill on Friday, saying they are ready to transform CMS with her and “look forward to partnering with you now and into the future.”

Hill’s interim tenure has also included a recommendation on redrawn boundaries in south Charlotte to accommodate a new high school and planned middle school. She decided in February to pull two books — “Let’s Talk about it” and “Sex Plus: Learning, Loving and Enjoying Your Body” — from school libraries after they were found at West Charlotte and Palisades high schools by conservative activist group Moms for Liberty.

She’s also faced a number of Title IX issues in the district, including a federal trial over a reported sexual assault at Myers Park High School. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is also investigating a Title IX case of sexual harassment in the district, The Charlotte Observer’s news partner WSOC-TV reported.

Hill told the Observer and WSOC-TV that the case the Office for Civil Rights is investigating is a case that happened during the 2021 school year, prior to when she came to CMS.

“My commitment is to keep all students safe,” Hill said when asked about Title IX issues. “And anyone who is on our team and doesn’t act in a way that they should will be held accountable. That’s somebody’s Madison and somebody’s Morgan (Hill’s daughters). It’s something I take very seriously. “

Work history

Hill held a pair of administrative roles in Cabarrus County Schools prior to taking the chief of staff job in CMS last year. She was the assistant superintendent in Cabarrus County for nearly six years before being named the district’s chief academic officer in February 2022.

She has a background in elementary schools.

While working as elementary education and Title 1 director in Mooresville, Hill received the Sara Haire Tice Women in Leadership Award at the 2015 MSI Business and Community Excellence Awards Luncheon. Hill was selected for the award because of her “steadfast belief that every child has the ability to succeed and learn,” according to a post on the district’s Facebook page.

In 2013-14, Mooresville Graded School District third-grade students were ranked first in the state of North Carolina for their performance on the state’s end-of-grade assessments.

“Hill played a vital role in this success as the director of our elementary schools and the leadership she emulates to the administration, teachers, and students,” the post states.

She also worked in Mooresville as principal of Rocky River and Park View elementary schools and began her career as a teacher in Greensboro.

Hill received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from North Carolina A&T State University and a doctorate from Gardner-Webb University.

“Dr. Hill is an experienced school administrator and servant leader with a proven track record of success related to student academic achievement,” said Elyse Dashew, chair of the school board. “She has been lauded for her role in improving academic data to the highest achievement (94% of all schools meeting or exceeding growth targets) in the history of Cabarrus County.”

Candidates from 18 states

The school board hired BWP & Associates to a $57,000 contract to oversee its superintendent search, conduct dozens of community engagement sessions and create a leadership profile of who the next superintendent should be.

BWP & Associates told the board at its meeting in April a total of 49 people applied from 18 states. Of those, 19 candidates were in superintendent roles, five are assistant superintendents, four candidates are principals and three are business, community or political leaders, among others.

From those 49 applications, BWP & Associates narrowed the field to six. Board members narrowed that list to four at the beginning of May.

“What was very important to us was someone who was focused on student outcomes and performance,” school board vice chair Stephanie Sneed previously told the Observer. “We are pleased with the fact all four finalists met this goal.”