CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In a historic school board race, 5 new people will sit on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools school board, the second-largest school district in North Carolina.
The five new board members join the one incumbent who narrowly kept her seat as well as the three at-large members. In the November elections, three board members lost their bid for reelection and two decided not to run again.
Melissa Easley, Gregory "Dee" Rankin, Stephanie Sneed, Lisa Cline, and Summer Nunn are all new faces representing CMS districts.
"We call ourselves fresh five," Lisa Cline, the CMS District 5 Member Elect said.
Thelma Byers-Bailey is the only board member who was up for reelection and returning. The five new board members and Byers-Bailey will sit on the board with At-Large members Elyse Dashew, Jennifer De La Jara, and Lenora Shipp.
Two of the five new members spoke with Ben Thompson on this week’s episode of Flashpoint here on WCNC Charlotte.
"One of the key things that will remain is that we kind of stay the fresh five, you know, and what I mean by that is that we were elected, essentially, because we are fresh because we're bringing in new ideas," Stephanie Sneed, CMS District 4 Member Elect said.
The five new members, who now make up a majority, could become a new voting block to challenge the direction of the four current school board members who are staying in their seats.
The CMS school board seats are non-partisan, but four of the five new seats are represented by registered Democrats. Cline is the only registered Republican on the full nine-seat board.
There are three immediate tasks on the checklist after swearing-in.
They include electing a board chair and vice chair, filling the open spot interim Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh leaves behind this month, and finally starting in earnest the search for a new superintendent.
"Everybody knows that number one thing is a superintendent, and we have to get that right and we've got to have that person in place by the beginning of the school year," Cline said.
The new board will also start discussing a multimillion-dollar school bond plan and redrawing school district lines.
"These have serious impacts on you know, feeder patterns. If siblings can go to the same school will that change", Sneed said. "We have to listen."
In 2023 the three CMS at large board seats are up for reelection. Which also may lead to another shakeup in Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools.