In vote of confidence, CMS extends contract and gives raise to superintendent Winston
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Earnest Winston will lead the district through 2025, after the board voted Tuesday to approve a new contract extending his term.
The new contract, approved in an 8-1 vote, includes a 3% raise for Winston, bringing his salary up from $280,000 to $288,400. It also provides 10 additional days of paid leave, and removes a clause that allowed the board to terminate his contract for any reason with 60 days notice.
Winston has led the district since August 2019. He was initially chosen for the top job on an interim basis after former superintendent Clayton Wilcox was suspended, and later was given a three-year contract through 2022.
Wilcox eventually resigned without public explanation. An Observer investigation revealed that former district administrators had raised concerns about his influence on the contracting process and his use of language offensive to women and people of color.
Winston started his teaching career in CMS, starting at Vance High School in 2004 before moving to central office. There, he was promoted to chief of staff in 2012. In 2017, he moved into the newly formed role of ombudsman, where he was tasked with helping students, parents and employees resolve disputes and navigate the district’s bureaucracy.
Prior to teaching, he was a reporter at the Charlotte Observer covering local government.
A leader in the pandemic
Board members praised Winston’s leadership and character throughout the pandemic, particularly the trust he has built with staff members as the district navigated reopening to in-person learning.
Board chair Elyse Dashew said the public nature of the role meant that Winston has had to face criticism, regardless of what decision the district makes. She went with Winston to visit schools that reopened for in-person learning for the first time. There, she saw the rapport and culture he had built with staff members and that it was a crucial part of leadership.
“I see that rapport and that trust that you have with the staff of CMS,” Dashew said. “And I think that part of why we’ve held together... through this pandemic is because of your integrity and your style of leadership.”
Board member Sean Strain, the sole vote opposing the new contract, said he didn’t support the contract extension or the raise. Strain said he didn’t think the district’s performance metrics are where they should be, and that the district’s chief executive should be held responsible.
“Executive incentives and rewards are directly tied to corporate performance, or they certainly should be,” Strain said. “We see our student performance, and our market share in decline. And that was a true statement before COVID.”
Winston said he appreciated the board’s vote of confidence, and that he could not do the work of leading the district without the people who work alongside him each day.
“I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge an incredibly dedicated team that I have working alongside with me in this endeavor, and it is a huge and important endeavor,” Winston said. “It’s never lost on us each day the role and the impact that we play in the lives of so many.”