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Saturday, October 10, 2026
Charlotte, NC|Independent Local News
The Charlotte Mercury

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At-Large

AL

Lenora Shipp

Board Member, At-Large, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education

Party
Nonpartisan
Office phone
980-343-3000

In our reporting · 9 stories

  1. CMS Board Starts the Search for a New Superintendent, 6-2

    A week after firing Crystal Hill, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board voted 6-2 to create a four-member search committee. The two no votes said the board should examine its own governance first. No timeline has been set.

  2. CMS Fired Crystal Hill 5-4 the Night Its Own Report Cleared Her. Where Each Board Member Stood.

    The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education fired Superintendent Crystal Hill 5-4 on Tuesday without stating a cause, then released its own report finding no improper conduct by her. Here is how each of the nine members voted and what they said.

  3. CMS Board Won't Rubber-Stamp i-Ready, Cuts It to a One-Year Contract

    Charlotte-Mecklenburg's school board declined to renew i-Ready on the terms its staff requested, rejecting a multi-year, sole-source contract for a single year with conditions attached. The 7-2 vote followed sustained objections over screen time, student-data privacy, and the strength of the evidence. Staff must return in August with data, security provisions, and limits on how the vendor uses student data.

  4. CMS Board Unanimously Approves Hill's Amended Budget — Two Weeks After Denying It 8-1

    Two weeks after rejecting Superintendent Crystal Hill's $2.1 billion budget 8-1, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education unanimously approved her amended version on Tuesday. The same operating envelope now carries six negotiated changes, including the elimination of the $2.4 million Capturing Kids Hearts contract and the reinstatement of all four CMS-DSS educational liaison positions. The state budget remains the variable holding everything else still.

  5. CMS Final Program Choice Plan

    Superintendent Crystal Hill's final Program Choice plan, presented to the CMS Board of Education April 28, would consolidate the district's choice programs into six themes, cut programs at 11 schools, add programs at four, and convert all four middle colleges to early colleges. Public hearing May 12; board vote May 26; implementation 2027-28.

  6. CMS Board Denies Hill's $2.1B Budget 8-1, Gives Her Two Weeks Without Saying What to Change

    The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education voted 8-1 Tuesday night to deny Superintendent Crystal Hill's $2.1 billion budget and gave her two weeks to come back with a revised version, without saying, in open session, what to change. After the vote, Hill asked four times for direction at the dais. Chair Stephanie Sneed declined and adjourned. The revised budget is due May 12.

  7. The State Funds 78 Percent of CMS Positions. The County Fills the Gap.

    The state funds 78 percent of CMS positions. The county funds 2,707 more. Superintendent Crystal Hill showed the board what happens if either side flinches.

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