Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, North Carolina, elections (2022)
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Six seats on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools school board in North Carolina were up for general election on November 8, 2022. The filing deadline for this election was August 12, 2022.
The seats were originally scheduled to be on the ballot on November 2, 2021, but were moved to 2022 due to redistricting delays.[1][2]
2022 school board battleground election
This election was previewed in the November 2, 2022, edition of Hall Pass, a weekly newsletter focused on school board politics. Click here to learn more about the newsletter or to read archived editions.
Six nonpartisan seats on the nine-member board are up for election. The seats were originally scheduled to be on the ballot on Nov. 2, 2021, but were moved to 2022 due to redistricting delays. Eighteeen candidates are running for the six seats. Incumbents are running four of the races—Rhonda Cheek (District 1), Thelma Byers-Bailey (District 2), Carol Sawyer (District 4), and Sean Strain (District 6).
In District 1, Cheek is running against Melissa Easley, Hamani Fisher, Bill Fountain, and Ro Lawsin. Easley and Fountain completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. Cheek, who assumed office in 2009, is a registered Republican who has said “I've been very nonpartisan in my service to the school board because kids don't need politicians, they need people who care.”
The Mecklenburg County Republican Party endorsed Lawsin.[3] Lawsin said, “The lack of transparency and open communication by the current board members to the community is dismal and borders on dismissive when parents are pleading for answers and solutions to the many problems plaguing CMS.” The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators (CMAE), the county’s largest teacher organization, endorsed both Cheek and Easley, a registered Democrat. The African American Caucus also endorsed Easely.
In her survey response, Easley said, “The three areas that I am personally passionate about our culture in CMS, school safety and student achievement.”
The Black Political Caucus endorsed Fisher, a Democrat. Fisher said, “as a board member, I'm looking for three C's, I'm looking for character, the character, the next superintendent, that superintendent needs to have the character that is going to reflect the educational values of our community. That's why they elect us as a board because they want us to represent their educational values.”[4]
Fountain, who is unaffiliated with a political party, said, “The eight women on this board have forced in woke, disturbing, disrupting agents like the pornographic books, gender identification, that I think is spinning the moral compass of our students from wrong to right."[5]
In District 4, incumbent Sawyer, a Democrat, is running against Clara Kennedy Witherspoon and Stephanie Sneed, both Democrats. Sawyer was first elected in 2017, defeating Sneed 47.4% to 30.98%. Sneed also ran unsuccessfully for an at-large seat in 2019, and chaired the Black Political Caucus before resigning to run this cycle.
Low-performing schools in the district have been an issue in the race. Sawyer said voters should choose her over her opponents because “I understand how policy can change outcomes. I shepherded creation of a new Equity Policy and a new Community Equity Committee. Establishing that committee was difficult – several board members opposed its creation, but I persisted because I was committed to having community members engaging with the board on our equity work.”[6]
Witherspoon and Sneed completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey.
Sneed said, if elected, she would focus “on pandemic learning losses, closing achievement gaps; broadening advanced performers opportunities; and student and family access to mental health support to ensure all students are college or career ready.” Witherspoon said, “Children and their families are our school district's most important stakeholders. Therefore, I will be sensitive to the needs of all children and their parents, focusing on equity and equality for all schools.”
The CMAE endorsed Sawyer, while the Black Political Caucus and the African American Caucus endorsed Sneed. According to WFAE 90.7, Charlotte’s NPR station, a group called Success 4 CMS endorsed Sneed and put up a billboard that said, “Carol Sawyer Voted For Empty Classrooms.”[7] The president of the local Mom’s for Liberty chapter, Brooke Weiss, tweeted that people should support Sneed to oust Sawyer, though Mom’s for Liberty did not formally endorse Sneed.
As of the 2020-2021 school year, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools had 149,845 students, 9,183 teachers, and 176 schools.
Elections
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Candidates and results
District 1
General election
General election for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education District 1
Melissa Easley defeated incumbent Rhonda Cheek, Ro Lawsin, Bill Fountain, and Hamani Fisher in the general election for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education District 1 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Melissa Easley (Nonpartisan)  | 30.3 | 18,843 |
 | Rhonda Cheek (Nonpartisan) | 23.7 | 14,744 | |
| Ro Lawsin (Nonpartisan) | 17.4 | 10,813 | ||
 | Bill Fountain (Nonpartisan) | 15.3 | 9,522 | |
| Hamani Fisher (Nonpartisan) | 12.5 | 7,803 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.9 | 551 | ||
| Total votes: 62,276 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
District 2
General election
General election for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education District 2
Incumbent Thelma Byers-Bailey defeated Monty Witherspoon and Juanrique Pallamente Hall in the general election for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education District 2 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Thelma Byers-Bailey (Nonpartisan) | 42.8 | 16,766 |
 | Monty Witherspoon (Nonpartisan) | 38.9 | 15,225 | |
| Juanrique Pallamente Hall (Nonpartisan) | 18.3 | 7,187 | ||
| Total votes: 39,178 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
District 3
General election
General election for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education District 3
Gregory Rankin defeated Steven Rushing in the general election for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education District 3 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Gregory Rankin (Nonpartisan) | 76.0 | 27,756 |
| Steven Rushing (Nonpartisan) | 22.7 | 8,289 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.3 | 484 | ||
| Total votes: 36,529 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
District 4
General election
General election for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education District 4
Stephanie Sneed defeated incumbent Carol Sawyer and Clara Kennedy Witherspoon in the general election for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education District 4 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Stephanie Sneed (Nonpartisan) | 43.7 | 19,116 |
| Carol Sawyer (Nonpartisan) | 36.6 | 16,004 | ||
 | Clara Kennedy Witherspoon (Nonpartisan) | 18.4 | 8,066 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.3 | 566 | ||
| Total votes: 43,752 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
District 5
General election
General election for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education District 5
Lisa Cline defeated Trent Merchant in the general election for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education District 5 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Lisa Cline (Nonpartisan) | 52.1 | 35,506 | |
| Trent Merchant (Nonpartisan) | 47.9 | 32,618 | ||
| Total votes: 68,124 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Michele Slater (Nonpartisan)
District 6
General election
General election for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education District 6
Summer Nunn defeated incumbent Sean Strain and Michael Watson in the general election for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education District 6 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Summer Nunn (Nonpartisan) | 43.5 | 23,588 |
 | Sean Strain (Nonpartisan) | 31.2 | 16,899 | |
| Michael Watson (Nonpartisan) | 24.2 | 13,124 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.1 | 598 | ||
| Total votes: 54,209 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: North Carolina elections, 2022
May 17, 2022
- United States Senate election in North Carolina, 2022
- North Carolina's 8th Congressional District election, 2022
- North Carolina's 10th Congressional District election, 2022
- North Carolina's 12th Congressional District election, 2022
- North Carolina's 14th Congressional District election, 2022
- North Carolina State Senate elections, 2022
- North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2022
- North Carolina Supreme Court elections, 2022
- North Carolina intermediate appellate court elections, 2022
- Municipal elections in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina (2022)
- City elections in Charlotte, North Carolina (2022)
- Mayoral election in Charlotte, North Carolina (2022)
- Union County Public Schools, North Carolina, elections (2022)
July 26, 2022
- City elections in Charlotte, North Carolina (2022)
- Mayoral election in Charlotte, North Carolina (2022)
November 8, 2022
- United States Senate election in North Carolina, 2022
- North Carolina's 8th Congressional District election, 2022
- North Carolina's 10th Congressional District election, 2022
- North Carolina's 12th Congressional District election, 2022
- North Carolina's 14th Congressional District election, 2022
- North Carolina State Senate elections, 2022
- North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2022
- North Carolina Supreme Court elections, 2022
- North Carolina intermediate appellate court elections, 2022
- Municipal elections in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina (2022)
- Union County Public Schools, North Carolina, elections (2022)
- Gaston County, North Carolina, elections, 2022
- Charlotte, North Carolina, Housing Bond Measure (November 2022)
- Charlotte, North Carolina, Neighborhood Infrastructure Bond Measure (November 2022)
- Charlotte, North Carolina, Transportation Bond Measure (November 2022)
What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
Ballotpedia researches issues in school board elections across the United States, but information availability is a challenge for us in many school districts. Please contact us about the issues that impact your local school district. Note that not all submissions may meet Ballotpedia's coverage requirements for inclusion.
Candidate survey
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About the district
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is located in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. The district served 146,211 students during the 2015-2016 school year.[8]
See also
| Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools | North Carolina | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ North Carolina Legislature, "Senate Bill 722," accessed July 7, 2021
- ↑ Mecklenburg County, "Election Information," accessed July 7, 2021
- ↑ The Charlotte Observer, "Charlotte teachers endorse 2 of 4 CMS school board incumbents. Who else received support?" November 7, 2022
- ↑ YouTube, "CMS school board candidate for District 1: Hamani Fisher," October 19, 2022
- ↑ WCNC, "CMS board race showcases Republican efforts to alter school board powers nationwide," October 27, 2022
- ↑ The Charlotte Observer, "Who is Carol Sawyer, District 4 CMS Board of Education candidate?" October 4, 2022
- ↑ WFAE, "The CMS District 4 school board race features a hard-fought rematch, plus a newcomer," October 17, 2022
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Local Education Agency (School District) Universe Survey Data," accessed January 29, 2018
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