Who's on superintendent panels?

If you're planning to attend Wednesday's panel interviews with the three finalists for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent, here's a bit more about what to expect, courtesy of a panelist.

The panelist list is as follows:

Panel 1, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church (parish hall) 115 W. Seventh Street: Pam Grundy, Judy Kidd, Kojo Nantambu and Guatam Desai.

Panel 2, Government Center Chamber, 600 E. Fourth Street: Randolph Frierson, Bill Russell, Bolyn McClung and Howard Haworth.

Panel 3, Francis Auditorium, Main Library, 310 N. Tryon Street: Rena Blake, Tripp Roakes, Ray Eschert and Daniel Freeman.

Finalists Kriner Cash, Ann Clark and Heath Morrison will rotate through all three locations, with sessions at 1-2:15 p.m.; 2:45-4 p.m., and 4:30-5:45 p.m. Update: CMS has now posted a list of who will be where at what time.


I recognize several of the names, but not all. Kidd is president of the Classroom Teachers Association and Frierson of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators. Grundy is a leader of Mecklenburg ACTS and Nantambu is president of the local NAACP branch. McClung, from Pineville, got interested in CMS after volunteering for a construction/renovation advisory panel and attends virtually all board meetings. Haworth is a former N.C. Board of Education chair who follows CMS closely. Roakes, publisher of the South Charlotte Sports Report, was involved in raising money to save middle school sports.


Here's what CMS spokeswoman LaTarzja Henry's letter to the panelists says about the format: "Please send us two or three questions you think are important by 5 p.m. on Tuesday. We’ll go through each one, as well as the questions we’ve solicited from the public through email and social media, and draw up a list. Each panelist will be given the list of questions before the panel begins. You may also receive extra questions from the audience at the panel discussion, which we will review and give to you as the discussion is under way."

Board Chairman Ericka Ellis-Stewart says all board members had a chance to appoint panelists. She said officials are still working on how to organize the questions.

I'm not seeing a lot of Twitter questions using #CMSSuptSearch, but a tweeter called NancyClare Morgan submitted these:
*How will you harness the parental passion going into new charter schools and bring that energy and commitment back into CMS?
*What do you see in the future for Charlotte's magnet schools?
*To the candidates from Memphis and Reno, what assurances can you give that CMS role would be more than a 3-4 year job?

And from the student group GenerationNation:  What role would students play in CMS policy and decision making?

I'll post more as I get it. I'm also hoping to get the list for the invitation-only lunch with the finalists on Thursday.