CHARLOTTE, N.C. — School board leaders are getting closer to launching their search for the next superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
They had some opinions Wednesday night about who they are looking for when they met to lay out certain criteria.
They only asked four questions to get the conversation going but that was enough to spark plenty of input.
"We must be able to answer who we want and what we want in a superintendent," said CMS board President Mary McCray.
Ann Clark is the current superintendent but she retires next July.
She got the job after Heath Morrison resigned last November after being investigated for overspending on projects and berating staff members.
CMS has had three superintendents in the past 10 years and longevity was a concern raised concerning the next one.
Board members also said they want someone aggressive about getting better funding, targeting higher graduating and literacy rates, and retaining more teachers.
They said they want the next superintendent to make CMS a top choice for education, not a magnet for drama.
"I would like to see a change in the way that many people in the public view of CMS. Sometimes I feel like we are to be pitied somehow or we don't know what we are doing," board member Tom Tate said.
Now board members will decide how they want to do the search, whether they will do it on their own or hire a search firm, which could cost up to $65,000.
The board hopes to start looking by next May.
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