Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools board elects new chair. These are her priorities.
Stephanie Sneed was elected unanimously Tuesday as the new chairwoman of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School board, while two members faced off to become vice chair of the board.
Sneed, who represents District 4, previously served as vice chair. She succeeds outgoing Chairwoman Elyse Dashew, who announced in July she would not seek a third term on the board.
District 3 representative Gregory “Dee” Rankin will succeed Sneed as vice chair after defeating at-large member Lenora Shipp. Rankin got seven votes, with Shipp and newcomer Liz Monterrey not voting in his favor.
Sneed was nominated by Rankin, and Rankin was nominated by District 6 representative Summer Nunn. Shipp, who was also sworn in for a second term Tuesday, nominated herself.
Sneed said after her election that she believes the school board is the most consequential governing body in Mecklenburg County and that she will prioritize improving student outcomes and communication between CMS and the families it serves.
“We are part of a movement that will be historical,” she said.
Monterrey and Monty Witherspoon were sworn in as the board’s new at-large members.
Who is Stephanie Sneed?
Sneed was first elected in 2022 to represent District 4, which includes parts of east Charlotte and eastern Mecklenburg County.
She is a trial lawyer who specializes in labor and employment law. She earned her law degree from Howard University. She also has a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Sneed told the Observer in 2022 that she believed she was a strong candidate for the board because it was in need “of a member that is a trusted leader” and has “genuine connections” in the community as well as legal and human resources experience.
She previously served as chair of the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg.
Outgoing chair: Decision on successor should be ‘made thoughtfully and objectively’
Dashew did not publicly endorse any candidates to succeed her as board chair.
“I am going to give the incoming and ongoing board members space to work that out amongst themselves. I don’t see it as my place to name names,” she told the Observer via email.
She did, however, put together a scorecard that she hoped would be “a useful tool” for board members evaluating their choices for chair. Dashew told the Observer the scorecard lists her “thoughts on the important skills, characteristics, and mindsets” needed in a board chair. Each candidate is graded on a scale of 0 to 5.
But, she added, the decision was ultimately in the hands of the rest of the board.
“Each one may well have different things he or she wants to consider. And that’s a good thing,” she wrote. “The tool is there for them to use, edit, or discard – their choice. What is most important to me, as I leave the board and think about the future, is that decisions are made thoughtfully and objectively.”
New at-large members welcomed to CMS board
In addition to electing new leadership, the board also welcomed two new at-large members Tuesday.
Monterrey, the first Latina elected to the board, dedicated her victory Tuesday “to the 43,000 Hispanic and Latino students in the district.”
“I hope my election will create a ripple that becomes a wave of representation throughout the education system,” she said after her swearing-in. “I am not supposed to be here. I don’t come from generational wealth or power. I’m a daughter of immigrants and someone who has worked hard her entire life. The fact that I’m here is a result of the resilience, perseverance and talents of those who raised me and those that I looked up to. I don’t take this lightly, and I feel it is a privilege.”
Witherspoon spoke about his own experiences struggling in school as a child and thanked those who pushed him to continue his education.
“To the students who look like, who are experiencing the challenges I did, I know where you are. I know who you are. And I will be fighting for you,” he said.
Local news editor Josh Bergeron contributed to the reporting of this story.
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