The race for the District 4 seat on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board features a rematch between two people who vied for the job in 2017, with a political newcomer joining the mix.
When Carol Sawyer and Stephanie Sneed ran for school board in a three-person race five years ago, Sawyer emerged the winner with 47% of the vote. Sneed was second with 31%.
This year the district has been redrawn: It still encompasses east Charlotte but now includes the town of Matthews. There’s a new third candidate in the race: Clara Kennedy Witherspoon, a recent retiree from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
Sneed tried again in 2019, falling just short of winning an at-large school board seat. She then became chair of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Black Political Caucus, a post she resigned to run for the board a third time. Now, when you hear Sneed talk you’re sure to hear some variation on this line delivered at a caucus forum:
"We are in a state of emergency in Charlotte," she said. "And that starts with CMS, and it’s the unacceptable performance outcomes for CMS students. Many of them look like me and you."
Sawyer finds herself defending a rocky five years that included academic setbacks, controversial decisions about pandemic safety and the forced resignation of one superintendent, followed by the hiring and firing of another. She stirred controversy by submitting a plan for new voting districts that moved Sneed out of District 4. The board approved that plan, but revised it to restore...
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