Who is Lisa Cline, District 5 CMS Board of Education candidate?
Name: Lisa Cline
School board seat you’re seeking: District 5, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education
Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 62
Campaign website: ClineforSchoolBoard.com
Email: Clineforschoolboard@gmail.com
Occupation: Retired educator
Education: BA secondary education Clemson University 1980, M.S.A. in school administration, UNC Charlotte 2006
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought): No.
Please list your highlights of civic involvement: Member of Charity League of Charlotte, Rotary, Committee to Save Olde Providence Park, PTAs of Olde Providence Elementary, Carmel Middle and Myers Park High schools.
What qualities, skills and experiences do you think would make a good superintendent for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools?
A visionary, creative leader who values transparency. An inspirational leader who is accountable and bases decision based on what is best for students. Strong financial intelligence. Successful teaching and administrative experience. Outstanding communication skills. Demonstrates high ethical standards and leads with integrity.
CMS, along with other districts across the country and state, have lost a lot of teachers. What are your ideas to keep teachers in CMS classrooms?
Teachers are incredibly underpaid. CMS should lead the state by establishing pay for masters level teachers. Rather than giving teachers a scripted curriculum in which they must teach, give them a framework and allow them to be creative! Teachers are under tremendous stress of required workshops, additional work days, and keeping the students safe. We must provide safety measures in the schools that allow teachers to focus on their students and the student to focus on learning.
What solutions would you offer to improve student and employee safety on CMS school campuses?
I would ask that CMS work closer with the towns to place their police officers in the schools . Matthews leads the county by having their own police in the schools. CMPD is understaffed and looking for officers. CMS should provide more funding to building their police force with retired officers and military who could easily transition to CMS police. We need a security associates at every level so that children feel safer.
How do you define CMS’ achievement gap? How can CMS bridge the achievement gap, raise test scores and get the 50 district schools off of the low-performing list?
The CMS achievement gap is the disparity between not only Black/brown children and their counterparts, but also between socioeconomic groups. Having worked at schools with high poverty, those students come to school at a disadvantage to their peers. CMS must do what they did in 2011 when they won the Broad Prize — allow the schools to creatively deliver instruction that best suits the needs of their students.
Why should voters choose you over your opponents?
I have had 39-plus years in education. I have also been a parent in CMS. My main focus is about the children, teachers, and parents in CMS. We must look for a major change in the board, not a repeat of what we already have had. I bring that fresh viewpoint to the board.
