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Meet all the candidates running for CMS school board

Only four of the 18 candidates are incumbents.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There are 18 people running to be school board members in the Charlotte Mecklenburg School District. The open positions are District 1, District 2, District 3, District 4, District 5 and District 6.

There are four incumbents in the race: Rhonda Cheek (District 1), Thelma Byers-Bailey (District 2), Carol Sawyer (District 4), and Sean Strain (District 6).

RELATED: 2022 midterm election voter guide

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools could see as many as six new people representing the second-largest school district in North Carolina. Elections for school boards in the Charlotte area are nonpartisan. Nonetheless, over the past few years, it’s continually been more difficult to separate school board business from political and social culture wars.

School board meetings prior to COVID-19 were relatively mundane, sparsely attended and procedural.

During the height of the pandemic, meetings that historically would have a few dozen people watching online suddenly had thousands watching at any given time.

For the latest breaking news, weather and traffic alerts, download the WCNC Charlotte mobile app.

The race for the CMS school board in 2022 will arguably be one of the most consequential and watched. 

CMS is continuing its overview of school boundaries and buildings in anticipation of the 2023 bond referendum. The new school board will also vote for the next superintendent of CMS at a time when most of its students are performing at levels below college and career readiness.

You can stream WCNC Charlotte on Roku and Amazon Fire TV, just download the free app.

WCNC Charlotte Education Reporter Shamarria Morrison interviewed each candidate running for the school board about their positions on a number of critical topics facing education. Each candidate was given up to 16 minutes to respond to questions regarding the following topics: School safety, the CMS superintendent search, teacher and staff retention and CMS achievement scores.

HERE'S HOW TO FIND OUT WHAT SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT YOU LIVE IN (enter your address where you're registered to find out)

District 1

There are five candidates running in District 1. Rhonda Cheek is the incumbent.

Read all their responses to WCNC Charlotte's questions here or watch their interviews below.

Rhonda Cheek (Republican)

WATCH CHEEK'S FULL INTERVIEW HERE

Melissa Easley (Democrat)

WATCH EASLEY'S FULL INTERVIEW HERE

Hamani Fisher (Democrat)

WATCH FISHER'S FULL INTERVIEW HERE

Bill Fountain (Unaffiliated)

WATCH FOUNTAIN'S FULL INTERVIEW HERE

Ro Lawsin (Republican)

WATCH LAWSIN'S FULL INTERVIEW HERE

District 2

There are three candidates running in District 2. Thelma Byers-Bailey is the incumbent.

Read all their responses to WCNC Charlotte's questions here or watch their interviews below.

Thelma Byers-Bailey (Democrat)

WATCH BYERS-BAILEY'S FULL INTERVIEW HERE

Juanrique Hall (Democrat)

WATCH HALL'S FULL INTERVIEW HERE

Monty Witherspoon (Democrat)

WATCH WITHERSPOON'S FULL INTERVIEW HERE

District 3

There are two candidates running in District 3. There is no incumbent.

Read all their responses to WCNC Charlotte's questions here or watch their interviews below.

Gregory "Dee" Rankin (Democrat)

WATCH RANKIN'S FULL INTERVIEW HERE

Steven Rushing (Democrat)

WATCH RUSHING'S FULL INTERVIEW HERE

District 4

There are three candidates running in District 4. Carol Sawyer is the incumbent.

Read all their responses to WCNC Charlotte's questions here or watch their interviews below.

Carol Sawyer (Democrat)

WATCH SAWYER'S FULL INTERVIEW HERE

Stephanie Sneed (Democrat)

WATCH SNEED'S FULL INTERVIEW HERE

Clara Kennedy Witherspoon (Democrat)

WATCH WITHERSPOON'S FULL INTERVIEW HERE

District 5

There are two candidates running in District 5. There is no incumbent.

Read all their responses to WCNC Charlotte's questions here or watch their interviews below.

Lisa Cline (Republican)

WATCH CLINE'S FULL INTERVIEW HERE

Trent Merchant (Undesignated)

WATCH MERCHANT'S FULL INTERVIEW HERE

District 6

There are three candidates running in District 6. Sean Strain is the incumbent.

Read all their responses to WCNC Charlotte's questions here or watch their interviews below.

Sean Strain (Republican)

WATCH STRAIN'S FULL INTERVIEW HERE

Michael Watson (Democrat)

WATCH WATSON'S FULL INTERVIEW HERE

Summer Nunn (Democrat)

WATCH NUNN'S FULL INTERVIEW HERE

How to vote

As a reminder, early voting in North Carolina starts Oct. 20 and lasts through Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, at 3 p.m. After Nov. 5, you may register to vote during the one-stop early voting period. This process is called “Same-Day Registration.” Complete details on registering to vote in North Carolina and the qualifications you need to meet can be found on the North Carolina State Board of Elections website.  

North Carolina voters are not required to show a photo ID.  If you are a DMV customer with an N.C. driver’s license or DMV-issued ID, you may now register to vote or change certain parts of your registration online.

Register to vote in North Carolina here.

Contact Shamarria Morrison at smorrison@wcnc.com and follow her on FacebookTwitter and Instagram.

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