Banning books? Historic bond? 3 things we learned in CMS board candidate forum
Candidates running for three at-large seats on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools board discussed book bans, bonds and mental health during a forum Tuesday night at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church.
Fourteen people will be on the November ballot for the three at-large seats, and at least two new faces will join the board because chair Elyse Dashew and at-large member Jennifer De La Jara didn’t file for reelection. Incumbent Lenora Shipp is seeking her second stint on the school board. She was elected in 2019.
The other six seats were decided during the 2022 election cycle. Voters showed they wanted a different tone, focus and results when they ousted three of four school board incumbents last November.
The nonpartisan forum on Tuesday covered a wide range of topics. A forum for candidates for Charlotte mayor, city council at-large and District 3 and 6 seats will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday at the church at 3400 Beatties Ford Road.
Here are the three things we learned from the debate:
Should public schools ban books?
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Conservative activist group Moms for Liberty contends it’s not in favor of banning books, but chapters have filed dozens of challenges across the state of books they say are not appropriate to be in school libraries.
Brooke Weiss, chair of Moms for Liberty-Mecklenburg, says books containing controversial content, particularly explicit sex, should be rated with age restrictions to give parents the choice about whether their child should have access to the book. And districts face new barriers around teaching issues about gender and sexuality because of the new Parents Bill of Rights.
Candidates Tuesday night said they agree parents should determine what books are best for their children — but one group shouldn’t decide what’s best for everyone.
Annette Albright, a former CMS employee running for a third time, said parents and educators should ask whether a book contributes to the academic process.
“If it doesn’t contribute to the academic process then we really have to wonder why is that book there,” Albright said.
Clara Kennedy Witherspoon, a retired CMS counselor making her second run for school board, says books should always be age-appropriate for children.
“Parents have always had rights,” Kennedy Witherspoon said. “The noise of Moms for Liberty takes the focus away from what’s important.”
Claire Covington, a first-time candidate for school board, said “books connect us to our history.”
“They connect us to our community,” said Covington, an attorney. “I do not believe in book banning. However, as a parent of two young children, I do believe that children should be exposed to books that are appropriate for their age.”
Support for CMS’ $2.5 billion bond is mixed
CMS’ $2.5 billion bond package to build or replace 30 facilities will be on the ballot in November. It will be the largest bond referendum of its kind in North Carolina history, and the district is pitching the likely increases as being just $10 in extra property taxes per month by 2029 for people who own homes valued at $400,000.
Michael Johnson, the CEO of a planning and consulting firm, says he won’t support the bond in lieu of fiscal responsibility.
“I do believe that our schools need to be renovated,” Johnson said. “However, a $2.5 billion tax bill that is going to increase taxes for the community over the next five years is a very dangerous thing. Especially when CMS has had a history of being fiscally irresponsible.”
As an example, Johnson brought up the near half million dollars CMS spent on clear backpacks in 2022 amid safety concerns over guns being brought on campuses. The backpacks were never used and auctioned off around $85,000.
But Shipp says she was a principal working in sub-standard buildings. She saw a lack of ventilation, system failures and spaces that were not appropriate for students such as mobile units.
“I see this over and over again in our schools,” said Shipp, who supports the bond. “We must, we must invest in our children. That’s the greatest thing we do, and I’ve seen the impact on student achievement. An environment conducive to teaching and learning happens when we have buildings that support that.”
Students need more mental health services
CMS is making investments in student mental health.
The district budgeted $1.5 million of federal COVID relief for contracted mental health services, for example. Roughly 290 students have taken advantage, attending a total of 1,500 therapy sessions since the summer. CMS also has hired 63 counselors, social workers and psychologists, increasing social work student contacts by 50%.
“We need to be teaching more social emotional learning,” Liz Monterrey, the daughter of Cuban immigrants and a first-time candidate, said.
Monty Witherspoon, a minister seeking a school board seat for the third time, calls student mental health a “serious crisis.”
“According to the National Association of School Psychologists, they suggest one psychologist for every 500 students,” Witherspoon, who is not related to Kennedy Witherspoon, said. “I think you’re now one for every 1,500. We have to find ways to creatively track and support and sustain school psychologists and social workers.”
Candidates say it takes the entire community to address student mental health.
Bill Fountain, a frequent speaker at school board meetings and a candidate last year, said student mental health can be attributed to a lack of faith, family and forgiveness.
“Those are key elements that I think solve a person’s problem,” Fountain said. “We’re not going to be able to do all of that in the schools.”
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This story was originally published October 4, 2023 at 3:39 PM.
