First Draft: It’s time for CMS to find a new superintendent

When Superintendent Earnest Winston presented his recommendation to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education a few weeks ago, the thought crossed my mind that the district was pursuing a 13-year hall pass.

That is for the next 13 years, the district would use the pandemic as an excuse for low performance. But it appears the school board is taking action. Multiple news organizations are reporting that the school board has asked Winston to resign. 

The school board will hold an emergency meeting at 12:30 p.m. today to “discuss matters related to the superintendent contracts.”

It’s a decision they needed to make, but it’s one that is also going to attract a lot of criticism. After all, we’ve seen a parade of superintendents come and go over the past 10 years: Hugh Hattabaugh, Heath Morrison, Ann Clark and Clayton Wilcox. 

Winston was the least qualified of them all, having never led a school district or a school. But he did capture the confidence of the school board. He was a great communicator who never cracked under the pressure of high expectations. 

Some will point to the handling of guns and reported sexual assualts on CMS campuses. I’ve been more worried about student test scores and how that relates to the fiscal year budget.

Winston tweeted an interesting quote from President Barack Obama yesterday: “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."

I like that quote. Here’s one from Gwen Stefani: “What you waiting for?”

Winston did not give me the impression during his last budget presentation that he can rally this community around CMS or that his proposal will ensure more students are performing at grade-level. 

I believe CMS has been stuck in paralysis by analysis. People are tired of hearing about goals and anticipated performance measures. They want to hear specific strategies. More important, they want to see results.