CMS board gives Crystal Hill a $22,500 raise. Here’s why she won’t get it yet
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education approved a new 7% raise for Superintendent Crystal Hill at its meeting Tuesday night.
The amendment to Hill’s contract raises her base annual salary from $318,270 to $340,700, an increase of $22,500. It also extends the length of her current contract by one year, to end June 30, 2029.
However, the amendment stipulates the increase is not to take effect until the North Carolina General Assembly approves a pay raise for teachers. That could be part of the approval of a full new state budget but doesn’t necessarily have to be.
The state legislature has still not approved a budget for this fiscal year, which began in July. As a result, teachers and other state employees have continued to be paid according to the previous state budget, with none of the raises from the state that were expected this school year.
Hill saw a previous salary increase in November 2024, with her pay increasing from $309,000 to $318,270. Once the new raise goes into effect, Hill’s salary will have increased 13.6% from when she was hired in 2023. Once it takes effect, her newest raise will be retroactive to Dec. 1, 2025.
CMS approved a budget for the 2025-26 school year giving teachers an average 5% increase to the county-funded teacher pay supplement, which is added on to the bulk of their salaries paid by the state. But, it’s still just that: an average. Some educators saw higher supplement increases while others saw lower. At the time the board approved the supplement increase, CMS assumed teachers would also get a 3% raise from the state, which as of Wednesday, they have not received.
Three school board members voted against Hill’s budget proposal last spring, saying a 5% increase to the supplement — an increase which would amount to hundreds, not thousands, of dollars for each teacher — wasn’t enough. The proposal ultimately passed, with supporters arguing it was up to the state to raise teacher salaries.
The board approved the pay increase as part of its consent agenda Tuesday and did not discuss the specific amendment at the public meeting.
Five of nine outgoing board members were present for the vote on the consent agenda. Four new members were sworn in following the vote.
This story was originally published December 10, 2025 at 9:57 AM.
