A version of the following article appeared in the September 14, 2026, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
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CMS infighting now turns to board members vs. board members: Move to oust Sneed as chair decried as ‘not team-like’; She claims ‘bullying, discrimination, harassment’
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education Chair Stephanie Sneed. Three board members say they want to discuss replacing Sneed as board chair. (Screen shot of CMS board meeting)
by Tony Mecia
The drama over the leadership of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools seems to be continuing, with the focus shifting away from the superintendent to the CMS board chair.
Following this summer’s unusual placement of Superintendent Crystal Hill on paid leave followed by her reinstatement in August – after an outside investigation that cost at least $379,000 — three CMS board members have sent a letter suggesting that the board replace chair Stephanie Sneed.
Board members Cynthia Stone, Lenora Shipp and Monty Witherspoon said they would like to discuss the matter at the school board’s next meeting on Sept. 22.
“The members stated that they no longer feel comfortable with the current leadership and that a change must be made to preserve the reputation of both the board and the district,” WBTV reported.
The specifics of the dissatisfaction with Sneed have not emerged.
Several Sneed allies defended her publicly.
“For people to come back and say these things is just not team-like, undemocratic, and I am really saddened by the fact that people are acting like this,” board member Shamaiye Haynes told WBTV.
A majority of the nine-member board can replace the board chair at any time, though it usually selects a chair each year in December.
The matter will be placed on the board’s agenda, Sneed said in an email obtained by WBT News’ Brett Jensen. In the email, Sneed added: “I am formally asserting that I have been subjected to unlawful targeting, bullying, discrimination, harassment and retaliation in connection with my service on the Board. I reserve all rights and remedies available to me.”
The dust-up follows a cryptic commentary by Sneed at the conclusion of last week’s school board meeting, in which she read a statement about what she called a “threat to public education we don’t talk about enough.”
She said:
There is something else that is a secret thing that we are not talking about that is a detriment to public education, and it’s what we speak. … There are narratives that we create, there are gossips that we repeat, innuendos that we entertain, speculation we amplify, sometimes for views, clicks, attention, to feel important and personal aspirations. … We need to be asking ourselves, “Does this help a child?” Are we choosing gossip, or are we choosing grace?
CMS board meetings tend to be snooze-fests, but the one on Sept. 22 might be worth tuning into.