School Board Profiles

Student assignment looms huge in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board campaign.

John Ross cites six reasons he cares about the future of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools: Three kids at Crown Point Elementary and three preschoolers who will go there.

After six years as a lobbyist for the construction and real-estate industry, Tim Morgan is ready to jump the fence.

Terri Dickinson may be the ultimate outsider.

Susan Walker says campaigning countywide for a commissioner's seat last year gave her great insights into the needs of different communities.

Eric Davis' steamroller campaign belies his political inexperience.

After one term on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board, Tom Tate says he still sees a ton of unfinished business.

William Woodard says when he thinks back to his 1967 graduating class at Charlotte's Second Ward High School, he recalls at least 95 percent of entering students coming out with diplomas.

Joyce Waddell says she lives for community work. The retired educator has kept active by serving on more than 10 community organizations and more than 15 appointed boards.

Teresa Tudor says she didn't appreciate how petty the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board's political catfights could be until her daughter reached school age and she started paying closer attention.

Some African Americans expressed indignation last year when the school board appointed a Republican to fill the seat George Dunlap vacated in heavily black and 65 percent Democratic District 3.

Aaron Pomis says many candidates running for school board talk about what they think should be done for schools.

Hans Plotseneder figures if people are going to keep telling him he sounds like Arnold Schwarzenegger, he might as well incorporate the movie star-turned-politician into his school board campaign.

Vivian Mitchell sought the District 3 seat last year, joining nearly 16 others who asked the school board to appoint them fill the unexpired term of George Dunlap, the longtime board member who resigned when he won a seat on the county commission.

Some school board candidates crow about their knowledge of the school systems' inner workings.

Nicole Hudson gets to the point quickly when explaining why she's running for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board.

Richard McElrath has spent most of his life trying to get minority and low-income kids a better education.

In the 10 months Kimberly Mitchell-Walker has served as a school board appointee, she's been notably quiet in public settings.

Gail Summerskill has spent 35 years as an educator, but it wasn't until she worked on the Obama campaign that she decided to run for office.

Six years ago, Rhonda Lennon the mom emerged as Rhonda Lennon the activist, leading north Mecklenburg parents angry about crowded schools and slow construction.

Robin Bradford knows she's not a typical District 1 candidate.