Two Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools board members who abstained from a vote to release findings of the investigation into Superintendent Crystal Hill say the board bypassed its own procedures.

At-large members Monty Witherspoon and Lenora Shipp spoke to WFAE on Saturday, Aug. 29, during a CMS back-to-school media event. CMS had told reporters the event was limited to back-to-school topics. Both members praised Hill's leadership but said the Tuesday, Aug. 25, vote to release a summary report jumped ahead of an existing process.

"I absolutely believe in transparency, I believe as much should be released as possible … But it's sort of putting the cart before the horse, in my opinion, when we have processes already in place," Witherspoon told WFAE.

Neither member specified what that existing process is or where it is codified.

What the vote did

Six board members voted Tuesday, Aug. 25, to direct staff to compile a summary covering the investigation's process, lessons learned and recommended governance improvements. The summary will withhold legally protected details. The district's lawyer is compiling the report, which is due before the end of September.

Board member Charlitta Hatch, who sponsored the motion, said at the meeting that North Carolina law provides room between full disclosure and silence. Board members Shamaiye Haynes, Cynthia Stone, Liz Monterrey Duvall, Anna London and Dee Rankin also voted yes.

Witherspoon, Shipp and board Chair Stephanie Sneed abstained. Sneed told the Charlotte Observer she wanted to remain neutral as chair.

Witherspoon wanted a unified statement

Witherspoon told WFAE the board should have issued a unified public statement when Hill returned Aug. 11 after a roughly two-month paid suspension. He declined to say what that statement should have contained.

At the Aug. 25 meeting, he called the vote "a performative action" for him personally, WBTV reported. He told QC News at the Aug. 25 meeting that he was abstaining because it was "the first conversation we've really had about it."

Four days later, he elaborated to WFAE: the board already had a process for releasing information, he said, but "we had not gotten to that yet."

Shipp cut short by communications officer

Shipp echoed Witherspoon's position, telling WFAE she believed a process was already in place. When a reporter pressed her to explain, a CMS communications officer told Shipp she did not have to answer. Shipp declined to elaborate.

She described her abstention as a matter of conscience.

What families are watching

Hill was placed on paid leave June 17 and reinstated Aug. 11. The board's reinstatement statement said the investigation found "issues that will require ongoing attention as it relates to leadership and operational practices." Invoices obtained by the Charlotte Observer through a public records request show the probe cost the district $379,429 for 1,233.4 hours of work by 11 attorneys at outside law firm Brooks Pierce, billed at $275 an hour.

CMS parent Stacy Staggs, whose twin daughters entered eighth grade this year, told Spectrum News 1 on Aug. 25: "In the absence of information, people are guessing and that is worrisome."

The summary report is expected before the end of September. The outcome will affect families across the district, including those at Ballantyne-area schools such as Ardrey Kell and Community House.