A school board that’s younger and less experienced than any in recent memory elected Stephanie Sneed as chair and Dee Rankin as vice chair Tuesday.
Past and future came together at the swearing-in of at-large members elected in November. Newcomers Monty Witherspoon and Liz Monterrey both brought their preschool children to the ceremony, adding moments of levity to their oaths of office as the children squirmed and waved to the crowd.
Monterrey, the board’s first Hispanic member, thanked her Cuban parents, “who left their home and country and risked it all for me and for their children.” She dedicated her remarks to the approximately 43,000 Latino students in CMS.
“I hope my election will create a ripple that becomes a wave of representation throughout the education system,” she said. “I hope to create an opportunity and hope for Latinos and the immigrant community, not just in the boardroom but in the classroom and everywhere in between, because we deserve to be here.”
Witherspoon brought a crowd ranging from children to elders. He said his 5-year-old son, Drew, had given him instructions on his speech and a list of family members to be named — including the family dog. Witherspoon dutifully complied, including a shout-out to “my furry child Cinco, who could not be here for obvious reasons.”
Witherspoon talked about growing up as a Black boy who was held back twice and wanted to drop out of school. He said he was inspired to success by Bishop George Battle Jr., who served on the CMS board from the late 1970s to the early 1990s.
“And to the students who look like me, are experiencing the challenges I did, I know where you are. I know who you are. And I will be fighting for you,” Witherspoon said.
Retired educator Lenora Shipp was also sworn in for a second term. She and Thelma Byers-Bailey, both retirees, are now the only members of the nine-person board who have more than one year’s experience.
Sneed and Rankin were among five newcomers elected in last year’s district races, and both held leadership roles in Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s Black Political Caucus before they joined the board. Sneed was elected chair unanimously, with no discussion and no other nominees. Shipp, who had previously voiced interest in a leadership role, nominated herself to be vice chair. But voting closed after Rankin got seven votes, from everyone except Shipp and Monterrey.
After the oaths, speeches and photos, the board settled in to working with Superintendent Crystal Hill — who’s also been on the job less than a year — to review data on one of the district’s biggest challenges: Helping more Black and Latino third-graders master reading.
