CMS hires new, permanent superintendent. Here’s a timeline of recent district leaders
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Crystal Hill named CMS Superintendent
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education named Hill superintendent, removing the interim tag she held since January 2023.
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CMS hires new, permanent superintendent. Here’s a timeline of recent district leaders
Who is Crystal Hill, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ new interim superintendent?
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education on Friday voted to make Crystal Hill its next superintendent.
Hill became the interim superintendent in January after the previous interim leader, Hugh Hattabaugh, decided not to finish his contract for family reasons. The last permanent superintendent was Earnest Winston, who was fired in April.
Here is the list of CMS superintendents since the court case Swann vs. the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education triggered desegregation efforts. A. Craig Phillips was the superintendent at the time. He resigned June 30, 1967.
1967: William Self named superintendent. Self resigned in 1972.
1973: Roland Jones named superintendent. The Board of Education dismissed him three years later.
1977: Jay Robinson was named superintendent. In 1986, Robinson left CMS when he was appointed to serve as the vice president of the state university system.
1987: Peter Relic was named superintendent.
1991: John Murphy was named superintendent. Murphy is known for launching a new magnet school program designed to match students’ interests and learning styles with particular themes.
1996: Eric Smith was named superintendent. Smith in 1999 proposed a new student assignment plan to send students to schools closer to home and provide families with choice, according to the district. In May 2002, Smith announced he accepted an offer to become superintendent of Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Maryland.
2002: James L. Pughsley was given a two-year contract to serve as superintendent. Pughsley was the district’s first Black superintendent. He announced his retirement in April 2005.
May 2005: The Board of Education hired Frances Haithcock as interim superintendent for one year.
July 2006: Peter Gorman became CMS superintendent. Gorman resigned in June 2011 to accept a job in private industry.
2011: Hugh Hattabaugh, the district’s chief operating officer at the time, was named the interim superintendent for a year.
May 2012: Heath E. Morrison was tapped to be superintendent. He resigned in November 2014. Deputy Superintendent Ann Clark was named superintendent while the Board of Education began its search.
December 2016: Clayton M. Wilcox was named the new superintendent. Clark retired at the end of June 2017. Wilcox was sworn in on July 3, 2017.
August 2019: Wilcox resigned under pressure and the board unanimously approved a separation agreement.
August 2019: The Board of Education named Winston as the new superintendent.
April 2022: The Board of Education fires Winston saying: “We must move foward on a different path.”
April 2022: Hugh Hattabaugh is named the interim superintendent.
November 2022: Hattabaugh steps down as interim superintendent, citing family his ailing father and other family obligations.
December 2022: Crystal Hill is named the interim superintendent. Her contract started Jan. 1.
May 19, 2023: The Board of Education votes 6-3 to make Hill the permanent superintendent through June 30, 2027.
This story was originally published April 18, 2022 at 3:07 PM.
