Group addresses CMS board about claims interim superintendent walked out of meeting

CHARLOTTE — A group of people who are upset about an encounter with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ interim superintendent spoke about it at the district’s Tuesday night board meeting.

This CMS Board meeting marked the second time Rev. Jordan Boyd found himself face-to-face with interim Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh this month.

Boyd said the first time was a week and a half ago at the Faith Memorial Baptist Church when they met about improving students’ outcomes.

In a meeting with the African American Faith Alliance, when asked about what could be done about responding to the academic crisis for families and students, he got up and walked out,” said Boyd, vice chair of the African American Faith Alliance for Educational Advancement.

Boyd and members of the alliance made sure to inform the CMS Board of their claims about Hattabaugh Tuesday during a public comment period.

“His dismissive, disrespectful and deliberate attitude is the reflection of a leader and a leadership unfit and unwanted for such a time as this culture of a board that refuses to address this issue,” Boyd said.

The board doesn’t normally respond during public comment.

Hattabaugh sent Channel 9 a statement last week reading in part, “Unfortunately the meeting began with a confrontational tone and was less-than-productive from the start … After an hour-and-a-half of attempting to redirect back to the agenda, it became clear that the meeting was not going to lead to collaborative solutions for the students we serve, and I left.”

Boyd denied witnessing any confrontation at the meeting and wants an apology from CMS leaders.

“We are not going away,” Boyd said.

Hattabaugh has been the interim superintendent for less than two months.

Hattabaugh shared in his statement that he hasn’t had much time to meet with community groups but he prioritized two meetings with the African American Faith Alliance.

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Full statement from Hattabaugh:

“I met with Commissioner Leake and the African-American Faith Alliance last Friday as a follow-up to a previous meeting. Between my onboarding as interim superintendent, closing out the school year, and managing a challenging budget season, I have not yet had time to meet with many of the community groups that I’d like to. However, I have prioritized time for two meetings in my first month with the AAFA. I anticipated an hour for this particular meeting. The purpose of the meeting was twofold: First, to share our plans for re-organizing the Learning Communities in order to increase accountability and alignment to the Board of Education’s goals and guardrails, and to increase focused support for students in our highest poverty schools. Second, I also looked forward to discussing how their churches might be able to partner with us in terms of out-of-school-time support for CMS students and families. Unfortunately the meeting began with a confrontational tone and was less-than-productive from the start. After an hour-and-a-half of attempting to re-direct back to the agenda, it became clear that the meeting was not going to lead to collaborative solutions for the students we serve, and I left.”

(Watch the video below: Community leaders say CMS interim superintendent slammed papers, walked out of meeting with them)

Community leaders say CMS interim superintendent slammed papers, walked out of meeting with them

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