The Rev. Amelia Stinson-Wesley, a little-known PTA parent and nonprofit director, was appointed Thursday to the District 6 seat on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board on a vote that split on party lines.

The board's five Democrats voted for Stinson-Wesley, a Democrat who has lived in Pineville since 2006, to represent the Republican-leaning south suburban district.

Republicans Rhonda Lennon, who represents the north suburbs, and Tim Morgan, whose election to an at-large seat left the vacancy, said the vote launched two years of partisan strife and suburban alienation.

"It's a new game," said Lennon, who said she, Morgan and unaffiliated Eric Davis will form a coalition to represent conservatives. "They put the pieces on the game board. We just have to play the game."

Stinson-Wesley will be sworn in before Tuesday's meeting. The new board will immediately engage in a superintendent search and planning for the 2012-13 budget.

"At this point, I believe I will be listening," she said after the meeting. Stinson-Wesley, who came to Pineville from Morganton, has two children at Pineville Elementary. She said she has attended a few CMS board meetings but hasn't gotten involved in specific issues.

Board Chair Ericka Ellis-Stewart and Vice Chair Mary McCray, whose November election to at-large seats gave the Democrats a majority on the ostensibly nonpartisan board, said the selection wasn't about party but about Stinson-Wesley's passion for children.

"I didn't even know she was a Democrat. I didn't look at party affiliation," McCray said afterward.

Stinson-Wesley, who works for the local "peace and justice" nonprofit World Connections for Women, was among 12 applicants -- two of them Democrats -- who applied for the remaining two years on Morgan's term. She was apparently chosen as members huddled in small groups just before the 4 p.m. meeting. Before that, members were reportedly deadlocked, split between former board Chair Wilhelmenia Rembert, a Democrat, and accountant David Knoble, a Republican who's in the process of switching his registration to unaffiliated.

Morgan, Lennon and Davis spoke in favor of Knoble, saying he knows the district's needs and brings valuable accounting skills.

Davis said he looked at skills that would complement those of current members: "We lack significant analytical skills."

The Rev. Tom Tate, a Democrat who was viewed as a swing vote when south suburbanites lined up against Rembert, said he was impressed by Stinson-Wesley's Tuesday remarks, which showed concern for the needs of District 6 and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools as a whole.

"She said she wanted to see our students soar," Tate said.

A handful of people from District 6, including Matthews Mayor Jim Taylor and state Rep. Bill Brawley, a Matthews Republican, came to watch the vote. Some of them said afterward they've never heard of Stinson-Wesley.

Morgan made that point in his remarks, saying she never talked to him before applying on Monday, the final day applications were accepted.

"She's very nice, very well spoken, but folks, I don't know where she really stands on District 6 issues," Morgan said.

After the meeting, Stinson-Wesley approached Morgan to apologize and say she'll be in touch. Morgan said he's willing to talk, but he still plans to tell his constituents that "she is an unknown in District 6."

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has a history of urban-suburban tension. In 2005, hundreds of suburbanites met to talk about splitting from CMS over concerns that their issues were being overlooked and they were being shortchanged on school construction. Last year school board meetings and street rallies drew hundreds of center-city residents upset over plans to close schools that serve mostly minority and low-income kids.

The 2009 district election brought in five new members, including Morgan, Lennon and Davis, who formed a moderate/conservative coalition that prevailed in most votes and named Davis chair. That majority garnered the animosity in some urban Charlotte areas that felt short-shrifted on the closings and other decisions. Black Democrats turned out in force for the 2011 election.

Now, Morgan and Lennon say they will likely be on the losing end of many decisions.

"We'll be the voice of reason," Morgan said.