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INSIDE ▼ YMCA branch may get busier
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PAGE 2B Friday, June 19, 2026 • Vol. 26 • No. 24
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CMS investigates superintendent CHARLOTTE – The CharlotteMecklenburg Schools Board of Education announced June 17 that it has placed Superintendent Crystal Hill on temporary leave with pay, pending an investigation into matters involving administrative and operational oversight. The board has asked Deputy Superintendent Melissa Balknight to take on additional responsibilities to ensure the
district has steady leadership during this period. The board said its responsibility is to ensure appropriate oversight and accountability across the district while supporting the continued operation of its schools. Because this is a personnel matter, the board is limited in what it can say. This comes two months after CMS announced Hill had won
the 2027 Southwest Education Alliance Superintendent of the Year. "The board of education is proud to see Dr. Hill receive recognition for her commitment to excellence without exception,” board chair Stephanie Sneed said at the time. “We appreciate her leadership and her continued work in support of the students of Mecklenburg County."
CharlotteMecklenburg Schools leader Crystal Hill (right) listens during an AI Data Privacy Summit in May 2025. Photo courtesy of CMS
CRTPO vote on I-77 was not made on a whim
WHAT'S INSIDE:
Open Letter
by John Higdon
Budd weighs in on I-77 South legislation, 2A
Try This Dish Ways to elevate at-home cooking, 1B
Matthews Mayor
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Fifteen high school seniors were rewarded for their hard work recently at Windsor Run with college scholarships. Photo courtesy of Erickson Senior Living
STUDENT SCHOLARS
Residents at Windsor Run champion education through scholarship program Giving Back Nonprofit marks 20 summers of relief, 3B
MATTHEWS – Fifteen high school seniors preparing for graduation were named Student Scholars at an award ceremony at Windsor Run, an Erickson Senior Living community in Matthews. These student employees worked as servers and hosts across Windsor Run’s seven oncampus dining venues. Their achievements are supported through scholarships funded by generous donations from community residents, helping to position these hardworking students for continued success. The student employees were each awarded a $4,000 scholarship. “These students consistently go above and beyond in balancing work, school and service
to our residents,” said Jillian Perry, director of resident life. “This scholarship program is only possible because of our residents’ generosity, and the impact it has on our students is truly lasting.” To qualify for a four-year scholarship, students must work 1,000 hours over a two-year period, remain in good academic and professional standing and plan to attend a college, university or trade school full-time. Perry said the Student Scholar program is part of the company’s efforts to support team members at every stage of their journey. “At Windsor Run, we strive to be a community where everyone who lives and works here can grow, learn and thrive,” Perry said.
Monroe attempts to flip I-77 vote by Justin Vick justin@cmgweekly.com
CHARLOTTE – Monroe City Council member James Kerr didn’t waste any time making his presence known June 17 during the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization meeting. Moments after being introduced as Monroe’s alternate member, Kerr made a motion that the CRTPO add to its agenda an item to reconsider its May 20 vote that rescinded support of the I-77 South Express Lanes project. Fifteen municipalities supported the motion but it failed due to weighted votes of Charlotte as well as opposition from Davidson, Matthews and Mecklenburg County.
One factor motivating communities to reconsider their vote is a draft amendment to a bill that would require local governments to reimburse the state for removing projects from regional transportation plans. Ed Driggs, of the Charlotte City Council, said he didn’t support the motion because he wasn’t sure the outcome of the vote would be different from the previous month. “I’ve been advised by a source in Raleigh that the towns that voted to change their position would not be included in the recovery process,” Driggs told CRTPO colleagues. “I think it was sufficient, based on what I’m told, that you took the action that you did without the CRTPO having to vote and you having to cast a vote
different from your last one.” Kerr said he thought it would beneficial to the board to have more input on the item. Leigh Altman, of the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners, voted against Kerr’s motion to the agenda. Altman believed members would have ample opportunity to talk about the topic without having a vote. Tony Long, of the Mint Hill Board of Commissioners, said he supported the vote because his board would like to revisit the issue. “I have been in touch with the people in Raleigh in the last hour and I’d probably respectfully disagree with Mr. Driggs,” Long said. “Mint Hill supports moving forward.”
Kerr
Driggs
see VOTE, Page 4A
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thecharlotteweekly.com | WEEKLY
ne thing that really irked me as this came to a head over the last few days is someone in Raleigh said that we made our decision to rescind (support of the I-77 South Express Lanes project) on a whim. I just want to talk about my own personal history here. I moved to the Charlotte area in 1975. When I was 12 years old, my parents bought a home near Park Road Park, and my brother and I frequently rode our bicycles from Park Road Park to the Tyvola Road/I-77 interchange. In 1976, we stood very near there and watched the WBT SkyShow that was shot off from the NCNB tower in downtown Charlotte. So I’ve lived in and around this area, and during the ensuing 50plus years, I’ve driven up and down the I-77 corridor from North I-77 to South Carolina hundreds and hundreds HIgdon and hundreds of times. That equals thousands of miles in that corridor. I’m not blind to the congestion that’s there or the fantastic growth that we’ve had during that time period. But I will point out that every single delegate on this board that represents Mecklenburg County, every single municipality, with the exception of the mayor of Pineville, who stepped out briefly but she would have voted to rescind as well, we all said we didn’t want this because we thought it was a bad project. It didn’t become good in the last month. The project, in my opinion, is not a good project. Senator (Vickie) Sawyer’s bill, which puts a gun to our head, and I’m sure some of the towns that have decided to flip their stance, I suspect, are doing it because they’re worried about the fiduciary impact to their taxpayers. If we’re going to make decisions on this board with a gun to our head, we don’t need to have this board. We can have the state legislature decide where the federal money is spent. Federal law mandates that we have a metropolitan planning organization here. It mandates that the state and us work together collaboratively and cooperatively. I don’t think Senator Sawyer’s bill in any way encompasses that goal. The only good thing I can say about her bill or her amendment is that it does extend the time that the money would stay in the see HIGDON, Page 2A