Channel 9 General Election Guide: CMS School Board candidates

CHARLOTTE — Ahead of the general election on Nov. 8, Channel 9 is asking candidates in several local races why they’re running and what they hope to accomplish if elected. We sent five questions to all candidates contending to represent Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools on the school board and asked them to respond in about 100 words.

How do you feel the school board handled important COVID-19 decisions, like social distancing, masking, and remote learning?
What are the top three qualities you want to see in the next Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent?
Since the latest round of school performance reports from the state, district officials have detailed various initiatives aimed at improving student outcomes. Do you agree with those initiatives, or do you think the district needs to do more?
What do you think needs to be done to address pay and retention among North Carolina teachers?
What sets you apart from your opponents?

In all, eighteen candidates are vying for the six open district seats on the CMS school board. Four incumbents are running to keep their position in the nonpartisan races.

Not sure of your district? Search Mecklenburg County district maps HERE

Below are the complete, unedited responses of each candidate who chose to participate.

District 1

Rhonda Cheek

How do you feel the school board handled important COVID-19 decisions like social distancing, masking and remote learning? a. I do not believe that health-based decisions should be made by a board of education, but rather by the Mecklenburg County Health Department or the NC Department of Health. This includes decisions about masking and remote versus in-person learning. The school board should not have been making decisions about mask wearing, health professionals should have been the determinants. b. I was an advocate for a safe return to in-person education and did not agree with the board majority, who abandoned the plan developed by staff to send students back to school in-person in August 2020. I stated publicly on numerous occasions that I had great concerns that the vast majority of our students would not do well academically in remote learning, and that unfortunately was true. I voted against continuing remote learning throughout fall of 2020 and remained an outspoken advocate for in-person learning. c. I vehemently opposed the former Superintendent’s recommendation to end all sports and extra-curricular activities in January 2021. When I learned of his plan, I spent 36 hours nonstop lobbying my colleagues on the school board to solidify enough votes to have a public show of non-support on this staff lead operating decision. That lobbying was successful and ultimately, we were able to allow sports and extra-curriculars to continue. As a result, many CMS teams and individual students won state and regional competitions as a result.

What are the top 3 qualities you want to see in the next Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent?

a. Integrity is a core quality and non-negotiable

b. Excellent communication skills with all stakeholder groups

c. Visionary and Innovative academic leader with strong management skills; must be able to develop a strong strategic plan to move the district forward, must be able to delegate and manage a team. Must hire/place strong talent in the organization to support his vision, then give them the freedom to move their programs forward under her/his watch.

Since the latest round of school performance reports from the state, district officials have detailed various initiatives aimed at improving student outcomes. Do you agree with those initiatives, or do you think the district needs to do more? I support looking research-based practices and evaluating what current programs and initiatives are showing academic gains in students and also look for key indicators and trends in students that are struggling. a. Attendance policy enforcement b. In-person education c. Curriculum integrity across all schools, but allow the school to use flexibility in curriculum delivery. d. Emphasis on small group work in reading and math, including tutoring and one-on-one interventions e. Integrated afterschool programs that coordinate with school day instruction. f. Summer enrichment programs that are integrated with the school curriculum g. MTSS- Multi tier system of support now being implemented to support students’ holistic needs. h. Enhanced professional development I would also like see the following concepts more deeply implemented a. Improved parental engagement- both at school and in the community. This is the “It takes a village” concept. Schools need to be welcoming and encourage parents to be involved, especially in their children’s education journey. Students with engage parents have higher outcomes overall. b. Community wide literacy program, impacting children beginning at birth. There are civic/faith and non-profits in places that could be united behind this, which should include adult literacy. Children exposed to reading and books in infancy and pre-schools years develop higher language cognition and are better prepared for K-12 education.

What do you think needs to be done to address pay and retention among North Carolina teachers? One crucial issue is the teacher pipeline, less students are entering education programs in college. CMS has its Early College program in education and needs to restart the teacher cadet program in all HS to expose students to the teaching profession. The state requirements to teacher licensure when moving from other states needs to be streamlined and reasonable, so teachers can get into the classroom when they move here from out of state. We also need reasonable licensure requirements for lateral entry type teachers, especially in the trades and STEM areas. Retention of teachers is multifaceted. The board needs to continue to lobby the state for improved pay and benefits, especially for veteran teachers. We must all create and ensure a culture of respect and accountability at all levels. That starts with the Superintendent and travels to every level of the organization. We must also ensure a safe workplace.

What sets you apart from your opponents? I have over 2 decades of experience advocating for the education needs of District 1, both as a community advocate and as an elected leader. I have been an effective, solutions-oriented advocate, who has a long history of building relationships with all stakeholders; students, parents, staff, community leaders, `and local/regional/state/federal lawmakers

Melissa Easley

How do you feel the school board handled important COVID-19 decisions like social distancing, masking and remote learning? As a member of the high risk community and a child that is unable to get the vaccine, I appreciate the fact that the board took the time to look at all the evidence and listen to our community health experts.Overall I feel the board did the best they could with the ever changing information that was available. I also feel that there were mistakes made along the way, as with any new situations, and I feel that if something like this were to happen again, things would be done differently.

What are the top 3 qualities you want to see in the next Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent? Three qualities I want to see in the next superintendent are The person is a Visionary. They have clear vision and goals for the future of CMS. Someone who wants to see those goals through and who has had experience in a mixed urban and rural district. The person has many Leadership skills. Someone who not only has the knowledge of best practices and maximizing achievement, but also surrounds themselves with knowledgeable strong people to help support the superintendent and our educators and staff. Finally to be an excellent communicator and relationship builder. This focuses on the culture of CMS, someone that will encourage our community to come together and build on the whole child learning and the journey to become an anti-racist district that CMS has committed to do doing.

Since the latest round of school performance reports from the state, district officials have detailed various initiatives aimed at improving student outcomes. Do you agree with those initiatives, or do you think the district needs to do more? I think what the board has done is a great start in getting on the correct path. I think more can be done, but taking on too much can also be a detriment to our progress. School performance grades will not be fixed overnight, or even in this BOE term, but we need to continue to make progress as we have been and in ways even bigger strides. We have the highest growth rate of our surrounding counties. If we continue growing our students for more than one year,like we did this past year, our student achievement will continue to improve.

What do you think needs to be done to address pay and retention among North Carolina teachers? Base Salary is something that needs to be addressed at the state level, but the supplement is at the local level. As a board member I can advocate for our educators in Raleigh to fully fund education as I have been for the last 7 years. I will continue to build relationships not only at the state level, but on a county city level as well.

The second way to recruit and retain teachers is by changing the culture of CMS. Making sure that our staff and students’ basic needs are met first. Our staff and students need to feel safe and supported before we can put all of our focus on student achievement.

What sets you apart from your opponents? I am the only candidate in District 1 that is a certified educator in CMS and spent the last 10 years teaching our students.

I am the only democrat who is endorsed on the “Blue Ballot” for district 1.

Not only have I taught in CMS, but I have been a strong public-school education advocate creating connections across Mecklenburg,the state, and in Raleigh.

I am a mother of two elementary school children in CMS. This means I continue to have a vested interest in my children’s and your children’s future in CMS. I will work to continue to build bridges between our community and school board.

Hamani Fisher

How do you feel the school board handled important COVID-19 decisions like social distancing, masking and remote learning? I believe during the unprecedented situation of COVID 19, the board stayed close to the recommendations of the Mecklenburg County Department of Health and attempted to keep our children as well protected as possible. There were a lot of unknown variables as we dealt with the factors surrounding the pandemic. I would like to ensure that there are adequate assessments of lessons learned from what we just experienced on global scale as well as policies authored that will equip us to be better prepared for future instances.

What are the top 3 qualities you want to see in the next Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools superintendent? As we will search for our next Superintendent, the following are 3 qualities that I would like to see reflected in a candidate.

Character- It will be important to discover what each candidate believes in as it relates to their values and educating Children. What is their philosophy of moving the needle in educating children.

Courage- Does the person possess the courage to make a bold move to build a greater CMS. What is their potential forecasted vision for the years down the road and not just for today. It will take courage to be an innovative leader.

Capacity- Does the candidate possess the training, education, and experience to anticipate what is coming down the road as well as possess the ability to proactively navigate thru a crisis that may arise. Experience is a great teacher that can if applied correctly, assist anyone to get out in front of a crisis and allow them proactive and not necessarily reactive.

Since the latest round of school performance reports from the state, district officials have detailed various initiatives aimed at improving student outcomes. Do you agree with those initiatives, or do you think the district needs to do more? In addition, with the current initiatives, high visibility and authentic caring for all stakeholders is crucial. Effecting positive relationships assures that all are working together to assure the best outcome for all students.

What do you think needs to be done to address pay and retention among North Carolina teachers? I believe in the approach of returning to the ancient path of respect and highlighting positive initiatives for the continued professional development for teachers. Teachers are professionals in their field of expertise and we must assist them in becoming greater in their proficiency of the curriculums we are requesting them to teach. As a CMS Board it is important to exemplify before teachers that we are vested in their success as well as a balanced life approach. I believe that we should continue to investigate innovative solutions that will afford us the opportunity to raise teacher salaries and offer a equitable bonus incentive system for all employees.

What sets you apart from your opponents? I am proud of my ability to represent the educational values of the community , demand accountability and be a team player as we become collaborative in working with all stakeholders to get the job done! But most of all my over 20 year’s experience of serving the public and being a voice for those who needed an advocate. I have experienced CMS from the perspective of a parent, community partner/leader and advocate. I believe my experience in all these roles has served a catalyst to prepare me to lead in the office I am pursuing.

Bill Fountain

How do you feel the school board handled important COVID-19 decisions like social distancing, masking and remote learning? The eight women on the school board failed our students, parents, and taxpayers by not allowing in school learning for over a year. This wrong-headed decision steered parents with resources to send their children to private, religious, or home schools, leaving the vast majority to struggle with virtual learning often without adult supervision. Unfortunately, this left a huge learning gap which some say will take years to fill. It damaged children’s social interactions, resulting in loneliness. These eight women should have followed the private and religious school practices of in classroom learning and leaving masking decisions to the children’s parents.

What are the top 3 qualities you want to see in the next Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent? The three qualities are successfully managing large organizations with innovation, experience as a teacher, and having a high moral character. I would add a fourth qualification that he or she should not be a proponent of woke culture. The woke theme of blaming white people is counterproductive for it tells the black and brown children all their problems stem from white people, so they’re not responsible for their behavior and learning. It also hones in on rejecting traditional morality by promoting sexual deviant lifestyles such as homosexuality and transgender. The lack of discipline sets no behavior standards for students.

Since the latest round of school performance reports from the state, district officials have detailed various initiatives aimed at improving student outcomes. Do you agree with those initiatives, or do you think the district needs to do more? Pre-Kindergarten in small settings for children older than three can help social interaction and reading, writing, and math skills. My reservation is the insistence of teachers, administrators, and school board members of including social emotional learning, which is a disguise for advocating gender identity and telling black and brown children that they’re victims of white supremacy. Reading with phonics is a promising initiative that produced results in Mississippi.

I’d like to see some initiatives on vocational training tied with the community colleges. This path offers students a real shot as a productive member of society.

What do you think needs to be done to address pay and retention among North Carolina teachers? The lack of support from administrators for discipline in the classroom is a key reason for many teachers leaving CMS. We see within CMS that disruptive behavior goes unpunished often based on the argument that the troublemaker experienced a difficult childhood. This policy doesn’t support the teacher trying to maintain an orderly learning environment. Too many times it’s the same children causing the disorder.

Teacher’s pay should be commensurate with their educational requirements; however, my sources say many teachers who left CMS went to surrounding counties for less pay but a safer and disciplined learning environment.

What sets you apart from your opponents? I’m the only candidate challenging the woke culture in our schools, which led to low performing and unsafe schools. It’s robbing students of self-esteem, confusing their God given sexuality, and setting no behavior standards.

I’m a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel fighter pilot and Pentagon defense planner and a retired program manager of two successful hundred million dollars programs. My wife and I moved here 18 years ago. Soon afterwards I left retirement to teach high school for ten years. I also have demonstrated my concern for CMS’s failures by speaking at the school board meetings for over a year.

Ro Lawsin

How do you feel the school board handled important COVID-19 decisions like social distancing, masking and remote learning? I believe the CMS School Board handled COVID-19 decisions poorly by locking down and forcing students to learn remotely longer than ANY school district and county in the state and furthermore, forced students and children to wear masks longer than any other school district despite many neighboring counties making their schools mask-optional. The damage done to students suffering from learning loss as a result of the lockdowns is immeasurable and the damage unknown for years to come.

What are the top 3 qualities you want to see in the next Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent?

1. Experienced Superintendent

2. Proven Track Record & History of Success

3. Highly endorsed by former employer, staff, colleagues and teachers

Since the latest round of school performance reports from the state, district officials have detailed various initiatives aimed at improving student outcomes. Do you agree with those initiatives, or do you think the district needs to do more? I firmly believe CMS needs to do MORE to include a significant increase to professional development for our teachers. A study of the teaching methodologies of how our teachers are teaching can help identify areas of improvement teachers can use in the classroom to help students learn better. In addition, identifying successful programs nationwide and implementing “pilot programs” to see if success can be achieved in CMS

What do you think needs to be done to address pay and retention among North Carolina teachers? First and foremost find out the root problems affecting teachers in CMS and identify reasons why they are leaving. To compile this date, conduct EXIT INTERVIEWS of every CMS teacher leaving to apply lessons learned to current teachers in the hopes of keeping them and attracting new, qualified and experienced teachers. Identify key funding needs for increases in teacher pay to make sure all CMS teachers pay is competitive not only in NC but nationwide.

What sets you apart from your opponents? Proven leader in the community, high energy and passionate parent that brings 21 years as a retired Air Force Officer, former small business owner and active community leader that the CMS School Board is sorely lacking. I also bring a sense of empathy, kindness, and listening skills parents deserve in a school board member as well as courage and tenacity to not only fight for but advocate those critical issues most concerning parents.

District 2

Thelma Byers-Bailey

How do you feel the school board handled important COVID-19 decisions like social distancing, masking and remote learning? I believe we made the appropriate decisions based on the medical advice available at the time. I believe that social distancing and masks were effective. I was disappointed in the lack of effectiveness that remote learning was for so many reasons, especially for our minority students.

What are the top 3 qualities you want to see in the next Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent? Experience as a Superintendent in producing high achievement scores and exceptional growth among a diverse student population in a large urban school district will be my top priority.

I will also consider someone with the classroom and school leadership experience who can spot effective teaching skills and is willing to move staff strategically to produce effective results in every school.

I will be looking to see what types of staff they would be considering to bring with them to fill gaps they perceive we may need to be filled in our management teams.

Since the latest round of school performance reports from the state, district officials have detailed various initiatives aimed at improving student outcomes. Do you agree with those initiatives, or do you think the district needs to do more? I believe the current Student Outcomes Focused Governance (SOFG) initiative is helping the district determine what students know and are able to do. This will identify which students are not meeting growth so resources can be put into place help them. By monitoring progress toward the various goals and guard rails each month, we expect the achievement scores for all students to increase while closing the gaps we currently see among student groups.

I also believe that fully funding the current Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) will help to identify and mitigate the barriers that prevent some students from focusing.

What do you think needs to be done to address pay and retention among North Carolina teachers? Since school districts receive their funds from federal, state and local government. Our state Constitution has says the state has the primary responsibility to fund education. There have been periods of time when our state has met this mandate and our education system has thrived.

That is no longer the case and local counties have been forced to attempt to pick up the slack. Our state Supreme Court is seriously considering mandating our state to fund education according to the Leandro proposal. If that occurs it will go a long way to funding the education needs.

What sets you apart from your opponents? I have a proven record of getting things done especially with respect to making sure CMS bond packages are fiscally sound and equitably distributed. I have traveled extensively to learn the latest innovations in education. I have brought concepts back to CMS, the latest being the SOFG work our board implemented.

I have served our board as Vice-Chair for 2 years and have been elected to 2 terms on the Board of Directors of the NC School Boards Association (NCSBA). This year our local Pride Magazine selected me as one of the Influential Women Leading the Way in Charlotte.

Juanrique Hall

How do you feel the school board handled important COVID-19 decisions like social distancing, masking and remote learning? I think given everything that they were being told at the time the school board acted in good faith. I hope that we have a lot of lessons learned from this, though, that we can go back and refer to in the event something like this happens in the future..

What are the top 3 qualities you want to see in the next Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent? I need to see someone that is capable of inspiring leaders to lead and holding those who are uncapable of leading to account. I understand that school districts need leaders provide a vision for the future, managers that are capable of identifying & communicating the steps needed make the vision achievable AND workers who are able to execute the steps.

Our next superintendent needs to know That the board will hold him accountable for taking action & leading effectively.

Since the latest round of school performance reports from the state, district officials have detailed various initiatives aimed at improving student outcomes. Do you agree with those initiatives, or do you think the district needs to do more? I think that the initiatives that have been laid out have been established in good faith So I am willing to see if they can be successful and give credit where it’s due if they are successful and if they aren’t make changes.

What do you think needs to be done to address pay and retention among North Carolina teachers? The biggest thing that we can do to address paying retention is to provide more opportunities and incentives for people to enter the workforce as well as exit opportunities to remove those who are failing. One thing that I would really love to do is open Our class rings up to the many military instructors that we have that live in this & state. Most of these instructors have bachelor’s degrees and thousands of hours teaching young adults. They also have navigated difficult and rewarding career successfully and they know how to handle large bureaucracies. So I believe this is an asset that we should investigate using much further.

What sets you apart from your opponents? The current BOE member for District II Could walk down the halls of every school in our district and no one would know who they were. My other opponent is directly tied to religious groups that are unwilling to accept our LGBTQ+ students.

So I believe that I am the only candidate that has support from both conservative organizations and liberal organizations as well as parent, Veteran, Latino, African American & LGBTQ+ organizations.

And most importantly, I know for a fact that I am the only candidate that stands for serving students not sides.

Monty Witherspoon

How do you feel the school board handled important COVID-19 decisions like social distancing, masking and remote learning? I think the best decisions were made earlier in the pandemic according to the available science. However, the negative impact of remote learning is obvious. The school board did not effectively communicate its safety protocol to students, parents, and staff as they prepared to return to in-person learning. It is clear that CMS needs new leadership to address the student achievement gaps that existed prior to the pandemic.

What are the top 3 qualities you want to see in the next Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent? It is important that he or she establish a supported and effective culture within the district. This involves the Superintendent’s ability to engineer working conditions that promote effectiveteaching and professional growth rather than toxicity, distrust, and low employee morale. Also, theyshould communicate the goals and objectives to employees. The Superintendent should possess an ability to translate complex concepts to individuals and groups in the community who may or may not be engaged with the district.

The Superintendent should possess the capacity to manage change. It is important that they are inclusive and informative rather than forceful and negligent in leading change.

The Superintendent should possesses the ability to manage data. They must be able to anticipate problems and quickly respond or reengineer programs.

Since the latest round of school performance reports from the state, district officials have detailed various initiatives aimed at improving student outcomes. Do you agree with those initiatives, or do you think the district needs to do more? I agree with the recent initiatives on student outcomes. However, some members of the board have served for almost a decade or more. They should have been laser-focused on student outcomes well before this recent initiative.

What do you think needs to be done to address pay and retention among North Carolina teachers? I support the findings of the 1997 Leandro v. State case, in which the judge directed the State of North Carolina to take action to ensure that students across the state would receive “a sound basic education”, guaranteed them in the North Carolina Constitution. According to Article IX, Section 2 of that Constitution, the State is obligated to fund free public education with equal opportunities provided for all students. Therefore, I believe that public education should be adequately funded by the State.

The state of North Carolina has a $6.2 billion budget surplus which came, in part, fromfederal assistance and sales tax from online spending during the pandemic.

Furthermore, the WestEd report (2018), identified key areas where resources were needed to address that included funding, the teacher pipeline, principal training, lack of Pre-K programs, and the challenges of high-poverty schools. Adequately funding public education was central to the report. One recommendation is to “Provide a qualified, well-prepared, and diverse teaching staff in every school”. It further states, “Working conditions and staffing structures should enable all staff members to do their job effectively and grow professionally while supporting the academic, personal, and social growth of all their students”.

What sets you apart from your opponents? I will be laser-focused on student achievement

District 3

Gregory “Dee” Rankin

How do you feel the school board handled important COVID-19 decisions like social distancing, masking and remote learning? The board made calculated and informed decisions during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Having 2 children that attend CMS and a daughter that is an educator in the district, I am glad the board utilized data, followed the state guidelines as well as the CDC, to ensure our students and staff remained safe while still receiving an education. We have to remember, just because students were not in the building 5 days a week, that did not mean learning was taking place and that our educators were not working hard. Students were learning and educators were working diligently to educate our students through a global pandemic.

What are the top 3 qualities you want to see in the next Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent? The top three qualities I would like to see in our next superintendent are:

1. Data and detailed oriented

2. Possess an equity lens

3. Motivator/Relationship Builder

Since the latest round of school performance reports from the state, district officials have detailed various initiatives aimed at improving student outcomes. Do you agree with those initiatives, or do you think the district needs to do more? As a district we can always do more to improve student outcomes. As a Board Member, if elected, I would like to have quarterly reports from the academic department as well as the equity department. We must ensure that the assessments throughout the year are aligned with state standards so that we have a better understanding of what our students’ needs are and also provide an opportunity for educators to identify possible improvements in their practices. Consistent reports from the equity department are essential because equity should be at the center of every decision that we make.

What do you think needs to be done to address pay and retention among North Carolina teachers? As a board we must continue to lobby to state representatives to increase teacher pay. Also as a district we must commit to investing in our teachers. We must provide professional development to our staff that is relevant. One of the complaints I hear from teachers is that some of the professional development they receive is not relevant. We must implement professional development that promotes growth. As educators grow they feel supported. Supporting our educators to the highest capacity possible is how we will be able to retain teachers other than the obvious, which is increasing teacher pay.

What sets you apart from your opponents? I pride myself on being a systems thinker. I understand that there are multiple disciplines involved when attempting to solve the problem of how do meet the needs of each student in CMS. I have a proven track record serving our community. First I am a former educator, so I understand what it’s like to be in the classroom. I have served on several community organizations in a leadership capacity all with the common mission of helping kids. The capacities in which I have served the community are as follows: Chair of the Mayor’s Mentoring Alliance, Chair of the Education Committee for the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte Mecklenburg, Co-Chair of the Student Wellness Committee on the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools Equity Committee. I understand the importance of creating effective policy and as a board member my goal will be to create policy that is effective and equitable. Being a native Charlottean, educating our kids is personal to me. I want to see our city and county to continue to grow and the only way that can happen is if we educate our kids in a manner that when students receive a diploma from Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools they are prepared to be self-sufficient, productive members of society.

Steven Rushing

How do you feel the school board handled important COVID-19 decisions like social distancing, masking and remote learning? I believe CMS operated in the best interest of the safety of our children with the actions and lenght of time for the distancing, masking and remote learning. I believe the time that CMS used was more than enough to keep our children safe.

What are the top 3 qualities you want to see in the next Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent? I believe for the next superintendent we need to think outside the Box find someone new with possible radical new ideas. Someone who understands the need to have everyone involved especially but not just the majority but the minorities included in what our teachers and students need. A superintendent that understand the need for help in the Latin community which in some areas makes up a large amoung of the students but a lot of times has no spokesperson except for now with me running in district3 which has a large Latin-American presence. We need perhaps someone younger and with a heart for the teachers and sees the need to support our teachers while the teachers support our students.

Since the latest round of school performance reports from the state, district officials have detailed various initiatives aimed at improving student outcomes. Do you agree with those initiatives, or do you think the district needs to do more? I do agree with the initiatives that were detailed and do believe they are a great start but there’s always room for more improvement. There is no such thing as perfect outcome when it comes to our schools performance but we can push ourselves always strive to always work as hard as possible to do the very best for our children and teachers.

What do you think needs to be done to address pay and retention among North Carolina teachers? I believe there has to be a push in every direction to get more funding allocated for teachers pay and their supplies needed to offer the best for our children. The best possible education for our children is only possible by having the best teachers so one hand washes the other. We need to cut the fat from areas that can wait or are not needed to provide the much needed pay increase for our teachers at the same time getting and keeping our teachers engaged in what decisions are made in our schools will keep the retention of our teachers high. If our teachers feel like they have skin in the game and have a real voice to be heard our teachers will know they are valued and this will give our teachers a sense of appreciation and support which will keep them in CMS positions.

What sets you apart from your opponents? I will not ever say anything negative about my opponent all I can say is what I bring to the table. I bring a different and fresh new look at things and not the traditional cookie cutter ideology. I bring an eagerness to move the needle on behalf of our children and teachers. I bring also a perspective that comes from the Latin-American parents in the community which doesn’t have much if any support in CMS because I am a Latin-American parent. I bring with me ideas to include the parents that have the availability to be included more in the day-to-day interaction with different programs one of which I call D.O.D. (Dads on Duty) to help teachers with time and student protection while in school. We need programs that drive and push our children to strive for the best in all categories in school.

District 4

Carol Sawyer

How do you feel the school board handled important COVID-19 decisions like social distancing, masking and remote learning? Many of our CMS students families lost loved ones during the peak of Covid. I hope that we never face a health crisis of that scale again. I believe the Board made the best decisions it could given the ever-changing (and sometimes conflicting) recommendations of the CDC, Mecklenburg County Public Health, ABC Collaborative, and other bodies charged with public health and school recommendations.

What are the top 3 qualities you want to see in the next Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent?

I want a superintendent who:

- encourages innovation and risk taking within the parameters of the Board’s goal and guardrails

- balances the needs of the district to provide equal and equitable education experiences across schools, while allowing implementation decisions to be made by the staff members closest to the work

- has high expectations for students, educators, and staff

What do you think needs to be done to address pay and retention among North Carolina teachers? Educators need respect, support, pay. CMS needs to balance the need to standardize curriculum across schools with the flexibility desired by our most experienced teachers to implement the curriculum with integrity.

I supported increasing the County pay supplement 10%, unfortunately the final budget only funded a 5% increase. The North Carolina General Assembly must raise educator pay so it is comparable to other similarly degreed professionals.

What sets you apart from your opponents? I have served on the Board since 2017. This is a challenging job and I have learned how to do it well. I chair the Policy Committee and previously chaired the Facilities Committee. I shepherded the creation of a new equity policy and a Community Equity Committee. I have fully embraced the Board’s student outcomes focused governance work and dedicate a significant amount of my time to monitoring performance in terms of goals and guardrails.

I am responsive to constituent concerns and questions. I actively reach out to constituencies via social media, eNewsletters, community events, and neighborhood meetings.

Stephanie Sneed

Did not respond to Channel 9′s questions.

Clara Kennedy Witherspoon

Did not respond to Channel 9′s questions.

District 5

Lisa Cline

How do you feel the school board handled important COVID-19 decisions like social distancing, masking and remote learning? It’s a shame that Washington politicians have made this a political issue instead of looking at the effects that this had on our children, both socially and educationally. By keeping the schools closed the mental health of our children suffered tremendously and the learning loss is going to take a while for the children to recoup.

What are the top 3 qualities you want to see in the next Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent? This is hard to decide, as there are many qualities the new superintendent must have. 1.A visionary, innovative leader who values transparency. 2. An inspirational leader who is accountable and bases decisions based on what is best for students. 3. Demonstrates high ethical standards and leads with integrity. Strong financial intelligence. Successful teaching and administrative experience. Outstanding communication skills.

Since the latest round of school performance reports from the state, district officials have detailed various initiatives aimed at improving student outcomes. Do you agree with those initiatives, or do you think the district needs to do more? These initiatives are just a beginning. The District must allocate more funds to the 50 schools that are failing by the state standards. Standards need to be raised for all children while supporting those who need additional reinforcement so that all children are performing at or above their grade level. The District must allow our teachers to do what they do best: Teach! Let them design lessons that are appropriate for their students rather than giving them a purchased curriculum. The State provides the Standards to follow and the scores needed for success; teachers do not need to be told to be on a certain lesson on a certain day. Finally take away all the additional workshops our teachers are required to take. Last week, CMS added 4 additional workshops to be completed by January 21, 2023. When do our teachers have time to plan and grade lessons? They are not paid to do these additional requirements!

What do you think needs to be done to address pay and retention among North Carolina teachers? CMS should lead the state by creating an incentive plan for retaining teachers. CMS controls the supplement, the state controls the pay, so CMS should pay the teachers who earn their Masters additional monies as an incentive. Rather than keeping teachers at a step for a number of years, these steps should be increased yearly. The current pay does not help the more experienced teacher.

What sets you apart from your opponents? 39+ years of educational experience, 29+ in CMS! I was a teacher, curriculum developer, and administrator, but more importantly I was a CMS parent for 15 years, serving on the PTSA boards of my children’s elementary, middle, and high schools. I worked on the East, South and West sides of Charlotte, so I understand the needs of the different communities. I was at one of the high schools Judge Manning suggested we close, through the hard work of our teachers and staff, we began to close the gap of our students. My priority is the children. We need to rebuild the broken trust between the community and the school system.

Trent Merchant

How do you feel the school board handled important COVID-19 decisions like social distancing, masking and remote learning? Hindsight is 20/20, so anyone answering this question will be able to point out mistakes, yet no one can change the past, so a more helpful question for students would be “What are we going to do about it moving forward?”

The Board was correct to go remote in March 2020. Beyond that, it gets more complicated. Almost everyone suffered during COVID. The biggest failure by CMS was that it had poor executive leadership, and it doubled down on that poor leadership. I address this in much greater detail at trentmerchant.com/faq.

What are the top 3 qualities you want to see in the next Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent?

Success leading a complex organization with multiple sites, and many customers / employees
Courage, decisiveness, ability to execute without having all of the information or funding
An organization builder, not a resume builder, with a track record of hiring people better than themselves

I’m also looking for an authentic leader who brings

high EQ - empathy, self awareness, ability to neutralize toxicity
Exceptional communication skills, especially in adaptation and listening for nuance

But that’s just me… The Board needs to listen to input from the community, then work together to agree on which traits are must-haves and would-like-to-haves.

Since the latest round of school performance reports from the state, district officials have detailed various initiatives aimed at improving student outcomes. Do you agree with those initiatives, or do you think the district needs to do more? They are on the right path, but there still is not a big unifying goal to inspire the Board, team, and community.

When I was on the CMS Board 2006-2011, we united around the goal of “Raise the Bar and Close the Gaps” related to student achievement. It was the drumbeat that drove every decision, and provided a cohesive framework for all of our initiatives.

It was incredibly successful, as we won the Broad Prize, based on the best overall gains in student achievement and closing achievement gaps in the USA - despite making massive budget cuts due to the Great Recession.

What do you think needs to be done to address pay and retention among North Carolina teachers? I am working on this issue with a school district in California through my consulting practice. The issues vary by county in NC, but in CMS we need to build a culture, which starts with courage and clarity at the top. For teachers, the elements of that culture include:

Fostering respect for teachers
Ensuring safe schools - physically, intellectually, and emotionally
Making licensure / professional development more relevant and less compliance-driven
Delivering some clear academic wins so we can advocate effectively for better compensation.

We also need to build better relationships with county and state leaders.

What sets you apart from your opponents? My professional skill set and authentic style are exactly what CMS needs at this point in time. I bring unmatched experience and perspective to the role, including:

CMS Board Member 2006-2011, when CMS was incredibly successful
Strong Independent Voice and team builder
Executive Search Consultant who will make sure we hire the right Superintendent
Corporate Leadership experience: Started the first-ever Talent function at company we grew to $5B, then led the International Division
Former teacher, coach, theatre director, and school leader
CMS Parent 2007-2026

Endorsed by multiple organizations and bipartisan community leaders - see trentmerchant.com/supporters for details

District 6

Summer Nunn

How do you feel the school board handled important COVID-19 decisions like social distancing, masking, and remote learning? I do not envy the position the board was put in during COVID especially given they are not doctors or disease experts. What I can say is none of them were parents of elementary school kids who couldn’t read or were learning to read. I wish they would have prioritized kids’ needs based on grade level after reviewing the progress and outcomes of students and teacher feedback on what was best. We all wanted them safely back in the classroom quicker as remote and hybrid specifically caused tremendous challenges.

What are the top 3 qualities you want to see in the next Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent? · Determined. We need to find someone who has been successful at turning a large organization around where performance is falling short and staff satisfaction has declined. Someone who walks towards challenges. · Servant. We need someone who knows the success of an organization is built by those in it and it is finding the right people and being disciplined enough to listen to them as well on the best path to success. We need someone to create an environment where people feel respected and accountable. · Problem solver. We need someone who is relentless in improving student success for all based on the community vision delivered by the board. They need them to create strategies and plans, measure, and optimize. We need someone looking for issues to solve and making sure CMS has the right plans and empowers the right staff to achieve their goals.

Since the latest round of school performance reports from the state, district officials have detailed various initiatives aimed at improving student outcomes. Do you agree with those initiatives, or do you think the district needs to do more? I think moving toward the goals and guardrail as a framework to measure student outcomes is the right direction for the board. I am not sure it accomplishes what the community wants from the board since it is heavily focused on test scores at a certain period rather than whole-child learning and meeting the needs of every kid. Moreso, I question if we have all the right goals. I also don’t see enough strategy and plans to accomplish these goals filtering down from the superintendent and their leadership as a parent who sits on the Student Improvement Team (SIT) at my kid’s elementary school. It feels like we have goals and the plan is completely placed on the principal and parent group (SIT) which is why we see such variance through our schools and their performance.

What do you think needs to be done to address pay and retention among North Carolina teachers? Overall, the state must start prioritizing funding for public education more than they are now. We now rank at the bottom of per-student spending when looking at the size of NC’s economy. Most teacher pay is dictated at the state level. I look forward to working with the state legislature to get NC back to being one of the top in public education and resourcing teachers properly. The board can start listening to teachers and measuring satisfaction. NC Teacher Working Condition Survey is conducted every two years and roughly 70% of our teachers fill it out. This could be an immediate proxy until we roll out a proper survey. We must understand why they are leaving and then start solving those issues. Some glaring themes are around class size, not enough on-instruction time, too much paperwork and other school duties, enforcement of policies, and lack of professional development. Teachers don’t feel like they can do their job nor are they able to develop further and we have to solve that. That could be technology investments, support staff adjustments, and commitment to communication and development. Also, when they can leave teaching and go get a job making 20-40% more, they need a more livable wage.

What sets you apart from your opponents? I am the mom of 2 elementary school kids who watched my kids start their education career from my home. I am at the beginning of CMS with a Kindergarten and 4th grader. I am also a successful business leader who has served as a corporate marketing executive for multiple Charlotte-based businesses. I have hired the right people and built teams for large multiple-site location organizations. CMS is a large organization with 180 schools and a $2B budget. I have tremendous experience building, collaborating, and securing budgets based on strategy and working with other counterparts to show the return on investment and reallocation needed to achieve goals. I am also honest and transparent and don’t want to play political games nor do I have hidden agendas other than making CMS as great as possible for my kid’s generation and all of the communities in Charlotte.

Sean Strain

How do you feel the school board handled important COVID-19 decisions like social distancing, masking and remote learning? CMS handled Covid with care and concern, before vaccines were approved and available for students (age 12) and staff. That said, there was still a gulf between the CMS position and that of the Governor/Secy of HHS that cost all of our children tremendously between August 2020 and Spring 2021. Our advisors laid out the pros and cons, the risk/benefit analysis if you will, in a 6-hour Board briefing. Ultimately, the decisions made by the Board were not rational decisions made based on scientific facts, particularly but not exclusively post vaccine availability. We needed to listen to our medical experts, and every week the evidence mounted that schools were, and in-person learning was, “Safe and Essential.”

The data shows the harm of keeping students of school, and now we work to regain the scholastic abilities of all, and holistically repair our students-both physically and mentally. Of course we are a large school system, but we can’t disregard the mental health of many students, which has been affected by closing the CMS doors for this extended period of time. Bringing more counselors on staff, as well as hiring the appropriate amount of teachers/teacher aides will help ease the stress of all. This will lead to success in all areas, for ALL students, not just District 6.

What are the top 3 qualities you want to see in the next Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent? The top three qualities I will look for in our next Superintendent are:

*Proven leadership of a large ($1B+), complex - preferably services - organization in a regulated industry. Has to have strong, demonstrated track record of establishing culture of accountability, performance management, achieving/exceeding goals, developing a strong team culture of purpose and commitment to the Mission, incenting and rewarding performance while giving counsel to those not meeting goals/performance objectives.

*Accountability; to students/families, faculty/employees and CMS community supporters.

*Accessibility; someone who brings their experience to CMS, but is also open to feedback and input from the BOD, and our community.

Since the latest round of school performance reports from the state, district officials have detailed various initiatives aimed at improving student outcomes. Do you agree with those initiatives, or do you think the district needs to do more? I understand and generally agree with the initiatives, but recognize it’s just a start. We have a long way to go to fill the void of the Covid years, let alone to address the decades-old gaps we so often “admire” as opposed to closing. This will require teamwork from teachers/staff, students, our community and families. The Superintendent can establish initiatives, but they will become empty words without follow through and willingness to assess and readjust as needed. All of that being said, with respect the question itself is a bit misplaced as strategy and execution belongs to the Superintendent and the Board’s job is to evaluate his/her performance in achieving them - so while I certainly have an opinion on the defined initiatives (and have provided some feedback), our primary job as a Board is to evaluate progress toward meeting our Goals and assess, incent and reward staff accordingly.

What do you think needs to be done to address pay and retention among North Carolina teachers? Teachers should be one of the highest paying professions we have in the world, but sadly this is not true. The quote I have seen-”teachers are in it for the outcome, not the income” is great, but teacher pay needs to be addressed and competitive at all levels. To attract and keep quality teachers, NC needs to offer pay commensurate to the experience and demonstrated proficiency, capability and performance. This needs to be addressed at the state level. All of that being said regarding state pay, we must also establish a culture within CMS where staff want to work - CMS being a destination and retirement job - and that includes addressing all aspects of the workplace culture (incl but not limited to student behavior/conduct, reducing load on the teachers - incl offloading some aspects of work *back* to County services, and general workplace code of conduct issues).

What sets you apart from your opponents? Proven leadership experience. My two opponents are each very qualified - no less qualified than I was 7 years ago. Each of us are business professionals, several with executive experience, each of us longtime parents having experience with CMS (incl SIT/local school policy board) on which to reflect. The key difference is that I also have a record of 5 years of service demonstrating with every discussion, debate and vote that I am Student-centered, Mission-focused, and understand the role - both the content and context - to continue to operate in said role from Day 1. I am known very broadly as “A Voice of Reason” and “A Voice for Students” - and am respected by many, if not most, of those recognizing that this is a public service role for me rather than a political seat. I have the community relationships and support both locally and in Raleigh to move our work forward, and am uniquely qualified in my race to do so.

I am asking voters to look at my voting record, and will continue to fight for our students, our faculty, and quality school experiences. We need to focus on sending career and college readystudents into the world. There are many avenues in which we can achieve this, and I’m happy to sit down with anyone to dive into details.

Michael Watson

How do you feel the school board handled important COVID-19 decisions like social distancing, masking and remote learning? I try to have some grace regarding the decisions related to Covid-19. As a country we were dealing with an unprecedented series of events and there wasn’t necessarily a roadmap to navigate a pandemic. In my opinion, the decisions were made through the lens of an abundance of caution in the interest of saving and preserving life and not within the lens of maintaining a positive learning environment. In retrospect we know now that social distancing and masking could have allowed our students to remain in school with a level of continuity in the learning experience. There also could have been a better job articulating the reasoning behind the decisions with our communities.

What are the top 3 qualities you want to see in the next Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent? The top three qualities I would like to see are 1. Demonstrated understanding and execution of point leadership, meaning that the next superintendent can surround him/herself with the best support staff to execute a vision. 2. Ability to communicate effectively and transparently to the community, the CMS organization, and the board. The energy to execute and deliver upon the goals and expectations of the CMS Board.

What do you think needs to be done to address pay and retention among North Carolina teachers? Recruitment and retention is a serious matter within CMS, and I do not think pay and total compensation tells the whole story. Let me preface that with the statement that our teachers deserve a livable wage, and we should do everything we can to stay competitive within the market. We have challenges filling that gap when our state legislature has not fully funded us but again that is not the whole story. We need to also make sure our educators feel supported and have a reasonable work environment. We could learn a lot from just listening to what they say.

What sets you apart from your opponents? In my district I am the only candidate that has served CMS at every level at some capacity. At the elementary level I served as a 3-year SLT Member and VP of the PTA. At the Middle school level, I served as a 3-year SLT member and President of a PTA. I continue to serve at the High School level on the PTA. In addition, I am on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Board for the College of Engineering at the University of Missouri. I have a passion for education and ensuring all students have positive outcomes. I bring a fresh vision with an emphasis on data driven transformative solutions to make CMS the district of choice for education.

Vote 2022 Stories

Channel 9 General Election Guide: CMS School Board candidates

Channel 9 General Election Guide: North Carolina state House candidates

Channel 9 General Election Guide: North Carolina state Senate candidates

Channel 9 General Election Guide: Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioner candidates

(WATCH BELOW: Election turnout lags in Charlotte’s rare summertime vote)