Dr. Melissa Balknight and the Historic Board Meeting: How iReady Lived to See Another Day
- Jun 24
- 7 min read
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education
Meeting Recap - June 23, 2026
"I'll say historic—you'll hear me say that several times—the outcomes with our data." - Dr. Melissa Balknight, Interim Superintendent
I. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order with two board members (Witherspoon & Hatch) participating via simultaneous communication (Zoom). Before the formal adoption of the meeting agenda, Chair Sneed entertained a motion to remove Item J* noting that the item would be "revisited at a later date”. The motion was made by Board Member London and seconded by Board Member Shipp. The motion passed unanimously and then then Board proceeded to adopt the amended meeting agenda.
The Board also honored Officer Michelle Archer on her retirement, recognizing her decades of service as the first Black female sworn officer in Matthews and her role as a school resource officer
II. Consent Agenda
What is a Consent Agenda?
A group of routine items, like past meeting minutes, standard bills, and minor personnel updates, that are combined and approved in a single vote. To ensure transparency, any board member can easily "pull" an item from the consent agenda to discuss and vote on it separately.
The Board unanimously approved the amended consent agenda.
The consent agenda included contracts for SRO’s, janitorial and cafeteria supplies, as well as estimated P-Card and Charter School allocations.
Consent Agenda Items
Meeting Minutes
Closed Session Student Appeal Hearing Minutes for June 4, 2026
Contract Approvals
Modern Classrooms Initiative - $287,500
A two-year initiative focused on closing gaps in middle school math achievement.
130 math teachers across 15 schools; 2 seats per school (Modern Math Leader Cohort)
University Instructors LLC Contract - $1,400,000
Instructional programming and support for Exceptional Children (EC) at Charlotte Mecklenburg Academy as required by law.
SRO Contract with CMPD - $9,105,197
54 uniformed police officers certified as School Resource Officers with assignments to middle or high schools within the CMPD jurisdiction with 3 Sergeants to supervise the SRO program for CMS
Janitorial and Cafeteria Supplies - $400,000
From among 7 approved vendors**
Paper & Plastic Cafeteria Supplies - $2,185,000
From among 10 approved vendors**
Radco Construction Services - $449,930
Canopy and structure connection replacement at Craig Avenue Transportation Center
Equal Eyes Contract - $800,000
To provide contracted Teachers of the Deaf, Sign Language Interpreters and Teacher of the Visually Impaired vacancy
Toshiba Contract for FY26-27 - $3,000,000
Contract Renewals
Lease Extension to the Department of Motor Vehicles - +$72,000
Currently the DMV leases office space at 6635 Executive Circle (AAA Campus).
This extension is for 3 additional months, ending 08/31/26
Rent will increase from $16,667 to $24,000 a month
25/26 Expenditures Amendment Against the Pro-Vision Multi-Year Master Contract - $65,000
Additional funds to purchase camera systems, installations, and cloud services for new EV buses.
Personnel Appointments
Donnell Underdue was named the new Assistant Superintendent for Elementary School Performance Area B. Professional Background. Currently, Mr. Underdue serves as an area superintendent in Cumberland County Schools. He is scheduled to join the district in August.
Sharon Taguchi was named as the new principal for Albemarle Road Elementary
With 23 years of experience in education and a master’s degree in school administration
Ms. Taguchi currently serves as the assistant principal at Philip O. Berry High School .
Miscellaneous Agenda Items
Aligning the School Board policy book to reflect the newly created Office of Legal Compliance, and Advocacy (OLCA)
Greenway Easement at J.V. Washam ES
The Town of Cornelius and Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation request easement around the perimeter of J.V. Walsh Elementary to extend the McDowell Creek Greenway
Truist P-Card Estimated Spend for FY26-27 - $8,000,000
Charter School Estimated Allocation - $102,268,214
"To me, it's so offensive—let's stop saying historic, historic gains, because to me it's like, historic for who?" - Liz Monterrey Duvall, Board Member At-Large
III. Public Engagement
There was one public hearing slated for the evening regarding the Revised Plan in Response to the 2024 Comprehensive Review Policy S-ASGP. No speakers were present and the hearing was declared closed shortly after. The final vote for the policy is scheduled for 08/11/26.
IV. Reports
Why are there reports?
The section of the meeting is dedicated to informational presentations by the superintendent, staff, or board committees on district progress, finances, and special projects. Votes are not always required for reports.
The Board announced several leadership appointments, including a new assistant superintendent and a principal for Albemarle Road Elementary. Financial reports and budget amendments for May 2026 were also presented.
Student Outcomes Focused Governance: Goal 3 (Grades 9-12), Interim Measure 3.2 Monitoring Report
Julius Chambers High School staff shared their culture of excellence, attributing progress in Math 1 to collective ownership of student achievement and data-driven PLCs. District-wide, however, the report noted that Math 1 performance remains off-track from meeting its annual target of 42%
Board members expressed concern over the "stubborn metric" of Math 1. Dr. Balknight explained that high school teachers are now utilizing small group instruction and "live data" rather than "autopsy data" (prior-year results) to intervene in real time. Discussion also highlighted that year-long Math 1 courses are often more effective for students.
Updates to 2026-29 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Goal and Guardrail Interim Measures and Monitoring Calendar
The 2026–2029 revisions to the district's goals and guardrails represent a shift as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools enters the halfway point of its five-year plan. District Staff believe these updates will transition the district from broad monitoring to more “targeted, actionable interventions”.
Changes to Goals (Student Outcomes)
Goal 2 (Literacy 3–8): The district separated grade 3 performance from grades 4 and 5. Staff argued the transition from 2nd to 3rd grade which requires students to move from "learning language" to "using literary skills" requires unique strategies compared to later grades.
Goal 3 (Math 1): Monitoring for high schoolers is now split between semester-long and year-long courses.
Goal 4 (College & Career Readiness): A new 9th-grade interim measure was added to track the early attainment of Tier 2 or Tier 3 credentials. Additionally, Goal 4 baselines were updated to use current data rather than the original projections.
Changes to Guardrails (Community Values)
Guardrail 2 (Safety): Interim measure 2.3, which previously tracked teacher perceptions of violence, was replaced with school-level pass rates for unannounced lockdown drill audits. District Staff believe that replacing staff perception of safety with drill audits to provide more concrete proof of school readiness" in emergencies.
Board Member Stone questioned replacing teacher perceptions of violence with lockdown drill results, arguing that passing drills is an "overarching" requirement and should not replace hearing teacher concerns about their safety.
Guardrail 3 (Well-being): All interim measures were shifted to focus on student voice, tracking social-emotional competence, belonging, and the impact (rather than just availability) of enrichment activities through student surveys.
Board members expressed skepticism about survey-based data for social-emotional support. Chair Sneed pressed for metrics that show "action steps and layers of support" for students in crisis. Staff agreed to work on reporting actual intervention processes throughout the year.
Member Monterrey Duvall suggested including student feedback in the design of surveys to ensure they aren't a "waste of time" and accurately capture the student experience.
Guardrail 4 (Staffing): In an effort to hide high turnover at specific or vulnerable schools, measures for Guardrail 4, which were previously calculated using district-wide averages, will now be calculated at the school level. Now, the districts want to see the majority of schools have attrition rates less than 13% for beginning and veteran teachers.
The Board unanimously approved the 2026–2029 monitoring calendar with the understanding that staff would refine the specific language of the interim measures based on their feedback.
"I think we are grossly underestimating the power and value of our teachers and what they actually really bring to this process." - Shamaiye Hayes, Board Member District 2
V. Action Items
What are Action Items?
Action Items are the are specific proposals that require the school board to take formal action by holding a public debate and casting a vote.
Recommend Approval of 2026-27 Curriculum Associates i-Ready Sole Source Procurement Contract
The discussion regarding the 2026–27 i-Ready sole-source contract was the most contentious portion of the meeting, reflecting a divide between the district's preference for technology that streamlines data and the Board's concerns over student well-being and data privacy.
iReady Discussion and Compromise
The Board was initially divided, with some members ready to vote "no" immediately. Member Stone argued for an opt-out provision for parents and suggested removing the tool entirely for K–2 students.
Superintendent Dr. Balknight warned that dropping the tool on June 23rd, with the contract expiring on June 30th, would be "harmful in the long run" as it would leave summer school students and the upcoming August semester without a mandated universal screener.
Outcome of the Discussion
To bridge this gap, Chair Sneed proposed a one-year contract instead of a multi-year commitment. This approval was explicitly contingent on staff returning in August with a plan to address:
Fidelity of implementation and better firewalls to prevent students from accessing non-educational sites like YouTube.
Stricter parameters for screen time by grade level.
Evidence based responses to concerns about data security and privacy.
**For Your Consideration
*Item J - Contract Pupil Transportation Services
$15,000,000.00
Multi-year contract to provide students who are unable to be placed on a school bus
Approved Vendors
Green Cab of Charlotte
A-1 Wheelchair Patient Transport
AA Metro Transportation INC
Royal Cab
AA Prestige Taxi Service
Xtra Care
Crown Cab
Alight Transportation
NC Wheelchair Transportation
City Cab LLC
** Janitorial and Cafeteria Supplies Approved Vendors
Carolinas Paper
Form and Supply
High Country
Imperial Dade SE Paper
Interboro Packaging
Webb Chemical Co
11400 LLC
Calico
Central Poly
High Country Hand Protection
Riverside Paper Co
Southeastern Paper Co
Veritv
*** Results of the Election of Applicants to the Community Equity Committee
Myah Davis
Roxanna DeShong-Myrie
Eric Cortez Escalante
Elesia Glover
Tavonte Gray
D’Ericka Hemphill
Andre J. Horton
Emanie Lassiter
Kristen Locke
Nasif Majeed Jr.
Tiffany Orr J
ustin Parmenter
Michelle Pettiford Gaynor
Russell Chelsea Sanders
Jennifer Shiley
Sekina Showers
Miley Spratt
Kristin Ward
Jontel Worrell
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