No time for a 100-day listening tour, interim superintendent tells CMS Board of Education
Hugh Hattabaugh bought some new ties recently, presumably for his new stint as the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ interim superintendent.
That’s when he discovered the garments, like everything else, had gotten more expensive, he said during his introduction of the 2022-23 CMS operating budget Tuesday night.
“I realized when I had to buy new ties — they were $39 — that’s half a tank of gas,” Hattabaugh told the Board of Education during his first meeting.
The 71-year-old Hattabaugh mixed in a little humor with a vision for CMS when he addressed board members during his superintendent’s report. He called his return to the district “a privilege,” and said there was no time for a 100-day listen and learn tour.
“We (have) got to get into the weeds here and get things working in the right direction,” said Hattabaugh, who served as interim superintendent in 2011, following Peter Gorman and preceding Heath E. Morrison. “I am very familiar with the challenges of a large, urban, diverse school district.”
The school board last week fired former superintendent Earnest Winston and unanimously named Hattabaugh the interim on the same day. He signed a $265,000 contract that runs through June 30, 2023.
Hattabaugh’s first official day was Monday. It included meeting staff members who oversee all facets of CMS.
“I really feel good about the transition here,” he said, “because it’s good to have smarter people than me in the room.”
High expectations
With ongoing pressures to decrease the district’s achievement gap, particularly with Black and brown students, Hattabaugh said his first question before agreeing to the interim superintendent was: “Will I have authority to recommend changes in key personnel that affect student outcomes?” The answer was, “yes.”
Hattabaugh said his first order of business is to reorganize the learning community offices. CMS has six learning communities that a community superintendent leads: Central 1, Central 2, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast and Southwest. Schools in the learning communities are aligned to increase instructional leadership support evenly throughout the district, CMS says on its website.
“The structure of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools learning communities is intended to better support high schools and schools that feed into them,” CMS’ website says.
Hattabaugh wants to expand the number of learning communities by utilizing the district’s present staff and academic services. That plan, which he will present in May, will help close achievement gaps, he said.
He also said it’s important to have money to hire effective and caring teachers, continue to bring great principals to the district and engage students.
“(Students) have to be in the seat in the school if they’re going to learn,” he said. “That’s an important factor. We’ve got to have engaged students.”
He said families need to make sure their children are in school — all day.
A lot of change
Hattabaugh began his CMS career in 2007 as area superintendent of the North Learning Community before serving as chief operating officer from 2008-2011.
At the time, there were 144 schools in CMS, including 37 Title I schools. Title I provides federal funding for high-poverty schools to help students who are behind academically and at risk of falling behind. Now, the district has 180 schools, including 85 that are Title I.
On Tuesday night, Hattabaugh told the board: “You have set the table, and it’s my job to work with staff to get the job done.”
Hattabaugh most recently served as the chief academic officer of Lake County, Florida, schools before retiring in 2013.
According to his contract, Hattabaugh’s salary will be paid in monthly installments of about $22,083. He’ll receive annual vacation, sick leave and holidays.
This story was originally published April 27, 2022 at 9:46 AM with the headline "No time for a 100-day listening tour, interim superintendent tells CMS Board of Education."
