At-Large
AL
Liz Monterrey Duvall
Board Member, At-Large (Vice Chair), Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education
- Party
- Nonpartisan
- Office phone
- 980-343-3000
In our reporting · 16 stories
CMS Renames Its Equity Policy and Drops Race Data Rules, 7-2
Board member Lenora Shipp's motion cited Session Law 2026-41, and no one at the dais mentioned the race data before the vote.
CMS Math 1 Scores Jump; Middle School Reading Barely Moves
CMS students made their biggest Math 1 gain in four years. Middle school reading rose one point, and a board member asked how the district closes a nine-point gap in a year.
CMS Board: Five Asked to Resign, All Five Spoke
A parent read the CMS board a petition she said carries 1,179 signatures calling for five members to resign over the vote that fired Superintendent Crystal Hill. Later, in board reports, all five spoke. None announced a resignation.
SAIL Families Ask CMS Board to Undo the 9:15 Start
Fifteen of the 33 people who spoke at Tuesday's CMS board meeting came about one thing: a later start time for South Academy of International Languages and Sedgefield Middle in 2027-28. CMS Transportation announced it Sept. 22 as an informational item needing no board vote. Parents offered an alternative.
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.
CMS Fires Crystal Hill 5-4; Report Found No Improper Conduct
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.
CMS Board Won't Rubber-Stamp i-Ready, Cuts It to One Year
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.
An 8th Grader Argued Against CMS's New Free Speech Policy
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education voted 7-2 to adopt Policy S-SFRS on student free speech. The most substantive speech about the policy came from a student who argued it would do the opposite of what it promised.
CMS Approves 99-Year Educator Housing Lease Option
CMS unanimously approved a 99-year lease option with Innovative Housing Solutions Foundation for educator housing adjacent to Garinger High School. IHSF must secure fundraising by June 2027.
CMS Restores Four Foster-Care Liaisons; a Judge Explains Why
District Court Judge Elizabeth Trosch spent nearly two decades in juvenile court before showing up at the May 12 CMS board meeting to explain what the district's sustained investment in four foster-care liaisons had actually produced, and why it had made Mecklenburg County a national model.
CMS Board Unanimously Approves Hill's Amended Budget
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.
CMS Final Program Choice Plan
The board took its Program Choice votes Aug. 11, and for nine programs at eight schools, 2026-27 is the last year.
CMS Board Denies Hill's $2.1B Budget 8-1, Wants a Redo
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.
CMS Makes May 1 a Workday as Unfilled Absences Hit 1,934
The 1,934 unfilled absences were more than four times the Friday average of 449 for April and May last school year.
State Funds 78% 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.