2 CMS school board incumbents won’t seek reelection in 2025. Here’s who’s running
Six of nine seats on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education are up for election this November.
Seats representing districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 will be on the ballot in this year’s elections on Nov. 4. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools board members run for staggered four-year terms. So, three at-large seats – currently held by Lenora Shipp, Monty Witherspoon and Liz Monterrey Duvall – will be up for election in 2027.
The filing period for November’s closed July 18. CMS school board elections are nonpartisan, so candidates do not run on a party ticket.
Board Member Thelma Byers-Bailey has represented District 2 since 2013, making her the longest-serving current board member. But this year, she won’t be running again.
“I came on with a vision for what I wanted to accomplish for District 2 and for CMS, and I’ve accomplished what I came for,” Byers-Bailey told The Charlotte Observer. “So, it’s time to turn the baton over to somebody else who has a vision to take CMS from where I’ve gotten it to even further forward.”
District 6 representative Summer Nunn will also not seek reelection, saying she is instead focusing on her career and family.
The other four incumbents – Melissa Easley, Dee Rankin, Stephanie Sneed and Lisa Cline – have all filed for reelection.
District 1
District 1 covers parts of north Charlotte into Huntersville, Cornelius and Davidson. It’s currently represented by Melissa Easley, who is in her first term.
Easley filed for reelection.
“As a lifelong educator, proud LGBTQ+ advocate, and mom of two CMS students, I remain deeply committed to building safe, inclusive, and equitable schools where every child can thrive,” she announced in a Facebook post July 3. “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together — from advocating for better teacher pay to expanding mental health support — and I’m ready to keep fighting for our students, families, and educators.”
Easley is a former CMS educator and the co-founder of North Carolina Teachers United, a pro-public education support and resource group.
Bill Fountain and Charlitta Hatch have also filed to run in District 1 as of July 11.
Fountain is a former teacher and military veteran who previously ran to represent District 1 in 2022.
Fountain aims to “save CMS,” according to his campaign website, claiming the district has “prioritized social and political agendas over core academics that steered children toward a victimhood mindset, undermined parental values and tolerated code of conduct violations.”
Hatch is the chief data and analytics officer for the City of Charlotte. She’s also a children’s book author and a member of the board of directors of the CMS Foundation, the official nonprofit partner for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
She hopes to bring “clarity and boldness to the CMS Board as she works to build safe schools, empower educators, close equity gaps and prepare our students not just for the next grade, but for the future they deserve,” according to her campaign website.
District 2
District 2 covers uptown, west Charlotte and western Mecklenburg County. It’s currently represented by Thelma Byers-Bailey, who will not run for reelection.
Shamaiye Haynes has filed to run for the District 2 seat, and she has Byers-Bailey’s endorsement. Haynes is a founder of the Charlotte Community Think Tank and president of the Greater Enderly Park Neighborhood Association. She was appointed to CMS’ Community Capital & Bond Committee in 2019.
Haynes previously ran for an at-large seat on the CMS Board in 2023. Though she lost that race, she said the strong support in District 2 led her to consider the district seat in the 2025 election.
“I’ve been active as a parent and, as a community member on the west side, a very active constituent for about the last decade,” Haynes told The Observer.
Haynes said she believes the district has made progress in recent years and is satisfied with the leadership of CMS Superintendent Crystal Hill. But, she believes CMS needs to focus more on community involvement and trust.
“I think we do need more community involvement. As funding cuts are imminent, as resources are scarce within CMS, we really need to do more community outreach,” Haynes said. “We need to focus more on not just parent engagement, but parent satisfaction.”
Juanrique Hall also filed to run for the District 2 seat. Hall is an alumnus of West Charlotte High School, where he now is a volunteer football coach, and works with the city’s Alternatives to Violence program. He previously ran for the District 2 seat in 2022.
Hall’s campaign centers on “combating illiteracy, restoring discipline and rebuilding trust,” according to a July 13 news release.
Hall carries the endorsement of Mecklenburg County’s chapter of Moms for Liberty and former CMS school board candidate Annette Albright. Previously a Democrat, Albright made waves when she spoke at the Republican National Convention in July 2024 and later attended President Donald Trump’s signing of a series of education-related executive orders.
District 3
District 3 covers northeast Charlotte and is currently represented by CMS Board Vice Chair Gregory “Dee” Rankin. He’s in his first term on the board.
Rankin told The Observer he intends to run again with a laser focus on equity across the district.
“I’ve always focused on providing a quality education to every kid regardless of what school they attend,” Rankin said. “We’re in a time where people feel like equity is a bad word, but it’s not. It’s about making sure students have everything that they need to be able to perform, and we need to have an equity lens in every decision we make.”
Rankin said he believes the board has accomplished a lot during his term, including hiring Superintendent Hill.
“I think we got the best person for the job,” he said.
No one has yet filed to run against Rankin in District 3.
District 4
District 4 covers east Charlotte and is currently represented by CMS Board Chair Stephanie Sneed.
Sneed is an attorney and is in her first term on the CMS school board. She filed for reelection.
In 2022, she ran on bringing a “new direction” to CMS, with a “focus on pandemic learning losses, closing achievement gaps and broadening advanced performers opportunities to ensure all students are college or career ready,” according to her campaign website.
Jillian King, a stay-at-home parent and former teacher, filed to run against Sneed for the District 4 seat.
King aims to “keep books in schools and help kids grow,” according to her campaign Facebook page.
Robert L. Edwards also filed to run for the District 4 seat. Edwards does not have a campaign website and did not immediately respond to The Observer’s request for comment.
District 5
District 5 covers parts of south Charlotte, from the Eastover neighborhood, through Myers Park, down to Highway 51. It’s currently represented by Lisa Cline, who is in her first term on the board.
Cline, a former CMS educator, confirmed in an email to The Observer that she intends to run for reelection this year and has filed with the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections.
In 2022, Cline ran on a platform of “accountability, safety and change for educational excellence for every student,” according to her campaign website. She emphasized recovering from pandemic learning loss, increasing opportunities for students, building parental trust and involvement and creating safer learning environments.
Cynthia Stone, also a former CMS teacher, filed to run against Cline for the District 5 seat. According to her campaign website, Stone wants to promote safe schools, student mental health resources, teacher retention, pandemic learning loss recovery and transparency.
“I am running for the Board of Education because I have serious questions about our district’s future. Why are our professionals leaving our district?” Stone’s campaign website states. “Why are our families seeking other educational opportunities for their children instead of relying on CMS? How do we ensure that our kids and teachers are safe at their schools? While physical safety is always a priority, what can we do to ensure our students and staff are emotionally and mentally well at schools?”
District 6
District 6 covers the southernmost part of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, including Steele Creek, Ballantyne, Pineville, Blakeney and the Providence area.
It’s currently represented by Summer Nunn, who is in her first term. Nunn, a CMS parent and marketing executive, has announced she will not run again.
“As a full-time marketing executive—and more importantly, as a mom to two kids in CMS, one in middle school and one in elementary—I had to ask myself: Can I give another four years to this role at the level our students and staff truly deserve from a school board member?” Nunn wrote on Facebook July 11. “The honest answer is: no, not right now.”
In 2022, she campaigned on a platform of filling teacher vacancies and supporting educators as well as bringing a data-focused business savvy to the CMS Board. She currently chairs the Board’s Intergovernmental Relationships Committee and has pushed for educator pay raises from the state legislature.
While she’s not running again, Nunn said she “will continue to be a strong board member until (her) term ends this fall.”
Anna London, president and CEO of Charlotte Works, has filed to run for the District 6 seat. Charlotte Works is Mecklenburg County’s workforce development board.
London told The Observer that community members “from all walks of life” asked her to run because of her connection to workforce development. Her campaign website highlights her focus on building a “bridge” between students and opportunities after graduation.
“I believe in making sure that our students are prepared for life after graduation, not just for graduation,” she said. “I know firsthand the importance of providing exposure and opportunities to students so they can create whatever it is that their pathway is for life after graduation.”
However, London would be new to working in public education. When The Observer asked what she sees as the biggest challenges facing CMS right now, she said, “I’m not sure about that.”
Nunn said communication remains an opportunity for growth for the district.
“Communication—both at the board level and within CMS—is an area of real opportunity,” Nunn said on Facebook. “It takes more effort than it should to stay informed, aligned and truly effective in this work.”
She also said “dysfunction remains,” in local politics.
“A candidate from my own party filed to run before I had the chance to share my decision—which speaks to a broader issue: coordination and intentionality in how we identify and support the right people for these important roles,” she said in her post.
Near the end of the filing period, two more candidates also joined the race for District 6: Toni Emehel and Justin Shealy.
Emehel works as a personal and professional development coach. She as well as her children all attended Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, and she has volunteered in CMS schools as a school improvement team leader, parent teacher organization president and booster club officer.
Emehel said she believes internal and external communication is an area in which CMS can improve. As a board member, she told The Observer she would bring a “fresh perspective.”
“I’ve seen, in working with the booster club, how teachers and schools are pulled to have to try to raise funds to meet the gap between what the school system provides and what is needed to create a truly effective learning atmosphere for students,” she said.
Shealy is an attorney and parent. He’s concerned with school safety, curriculum transparency and parental involvement.
“I’m running for School Board because I believe it’s time to put students first, restore parental rights, and bring common sense accountability back to our schools,” his campaign website says. “I want to make sure every parent feels confident sending their child to a CMS classroom, knowing they’ll be safe, challenged academically and taught without political bias.”
Nunn has not yet given an endorsement in the race.
“When the time comes, I’ll proudly endorse the candidate I believe is most ready to carry this work forward,” Nunn said.
This story was originally published July 9, 2025 at 8:44 AM.
