CMS sets ambitious goals to hire new superintendent. Here’s when one could be on the job
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board on Tuesday said it hopes to have a new superintendent in place by the end of April.
Board members unanimously approved a timeline with key dates: hire a search firm by Feb. 6; accept applications through March 10; and pick finalists for board interviews by March 20.
Finalists would be interviewed until the end of March, according to the timeline. The board plans to choose the new superintendent April 3. The board wants to approve a contract and discuss the new superintendent’s start date by April 24.
“The timeline can be adjusted if we deem necessary to make sure we are doing a thorough search,” said Summer Nunn, the chair of the search committee that includes CMS Board Chair Elyse Dashew, Vice Chair Stephanie Sneed and Lenora Shipp.
Nunn acknowledged the ambitious timeline, but said it will be a guide for the committee’s work and ensure the search firm is aggressive in seeking applications, too.
”There are quite a few other large school districts conducting searches right now,” she said.
Board members also gave permission to the superintendent search committee to modify the timeline when needed and approve the Request for Proposal (RFP) process.
How CMS got here
The district has been without a permanent superintendent since April, when the board fired Earnest Winston and hired Hugh Hattabaugh to be the interim superintendent the same day.
Board members signed Hattabaugh to a $265,000 contract that ran through June 30. But he stepped down Dec. 31 because of family obligations.
The board named Crystal Hill its interim superintendent Dec. 20. It signed Hill, who is the first Black female leader of the district, to a contract that runs from Jan. 1 through June 30, 2023. She will make $21,667 monthly or a total amount of $260,000 per year. That’s roughly equal to Hattabaugh’s contract.
Hill, previously the district’s chief of staff, worked in Cabarrus County Schools as the chief academic officer and assistant superintendent before taking the CMS job in May.
Smaller pools of applicants
Sam Thorp is the assistant legal counsel for superintendent searches for the North Carolina School Boards Association. He told The Charlotte Observer a superintendent search generally takes six months, but it’s possible for a board to hire in a four-month time frame depending on how quickly the candidate pool can be narrowed.
“The fact that CMS wants to hire a search firm by Feb. 6 — that’s a two-and-a-half month search from that point, that’s not four months,” Thorp said. “Of course, the search firm will get to know the kinds of thing the board is looking for.”
Thorp says because Charlotte is a large district — the 18th largest in the country — board members will have to scrutinize the pool.
“They may want to look for an up-and-comer and not a known name,” he said. “They need to be deliberate and thoughtful in doing the search.”
CMS is looking for a superintendent as leaders are leaving the position more quickly, the Observer reported shortly after the board fired Winston. The superintendent turnover rate in North Carolina during the 2021-22 school year was 12%. Nationally, about 25% of superintendents decided to leave their posts during 2021-22 compared to a typical turnover rate of 14 to 16%, according to the American Association of School Administrators.
Thorp says his group used to see 30 to 40 applicants for superintendent jobs. Now, they’re seeing that number in the teens and maybe low 20s.
“The pool is shrinking,” Thorp said.
Model timeline
Nunn says CMS based its timeline on four other large school districts that averaged a four-month search for a superintendent, including Boston Public Schools and Orange County Public Schools in Florida.
Nunn said the school district already is “ahead of the curve” in the search process because it held several forums to seek community input in the fall with the help of Charlotte consulting firm Civility Localized. The school board also asked the public to fill out a survey.
“Most searches do not start until the search firm is selected,” Nunn said. “This will allow the search firm and committee to dive in quicker … and finalize any additional community feedback needed.”
The community survey drew more than 1,700 responses, and the focus groups and listening sessions drew hundreds.
There was no clear indication whether residents prefer a local or national candidate for the role, according to the final report released this week by Civility Localized.
But community members want a superintendent who has experience improving student performance, particularly in narrowing achievement gaps; can evaluate and revise systems so the district is efficient and transparent; and is innovative and approachable.
CMS students and families, community members, nonprofit leaders, business leaders and faith leaders also say they want to be seen as a resource for district success.
“Across the country, superintendent turnover is a challenge, however, the current school board is in position to get it right for Charlotte and Mecklenburg County,” according to the summary. “It is clear that people want to see change.”
