CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools voted 7-2 on Tuesday to terminate the employment contract of Superintendent Earnest Winston, the board decided to announce Scott McCully as the acting CMS superintendent until the interim superintendent can start.
McCully is currently the CMS chief compliance officer, a role he's been in for a year-and-a-half. Before then, he served as chief operations officer for Guilford County Schools for a little over three years. He had been CMS' executive director of planning and student placement for 16 years before joining Guilford County Schools. He started his career as the director of demographics and strategic planning for Topeka Public Schools for seven years.
The interim superintendent will be Hugh Hattabaugh. Hattabaugh currently lives in Florida and is set to take over on Monday, April 25. The board announced he will serve a one-year-long term as interim so that the school board can conduct a nationwide search for Winston's permanent replacement.
Hattabaugh is a familiar face to CMS. He was with the district from October 2008 through June 2011 in the role of COO before replacing superintendent Peter Gorman who resigned. Hattabaugh served as interim superintendent until 2012.
“Hugh is the right person to lead CMS at this time as we conduct a thorough, nationwide search for a new superintendent,” said Board Chair Elyse Dashew. “He brings extensive experience in leadership and education and firsthand knowledge of CMS to this position. We are very fortunate to have Hugh in this interim role and we are confident he will drive significant progress. The Board thanks Earnest for his service and commitment to CMS and we wish him well.”
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