Melissa Balknight

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.

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.

CMS Ends $2.4M Capturing Kids' Hearts Deal, Redirects Funds

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will end its use of Capturing Kids' Hearts and redirect the program's $2.4 million budget toward classroom-based instruction and a competitive procurement process.

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 Eliminates Pre-K Coaching Staff, Folds It Into K-2 Team

CMS Plans to Cut 4 Liaisons; County Not Told of New Plan

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 Family Engagement Policy Draft Exposes a Board Rules Gap

The Family and Community Engagement Ad Hoc Committee is drafting the district's first standalone family engagement policy, and discovered there are no written rules for how board members use district staff.