Cynthia Stone, CMS Board of Education District 5 candidate, answers our questions
To help inform voters in the Nov. 4, 2025, election, this candidate questionnaire is available to be republished by local publications in North Carolina without any cost. Please consider subscribing to The Charlotte Observer to help make this coverage possible.
Name: Cynthia Stone
Age: 70
Campaign website or social media page: stoneforcmsd5.com; Instagram: @Stoneforcms Occupation: Retired Educator from CMS December 2023
Education:
185 hours coursework: The Science of Reading, State of NC Master of Education, Montessori Concentration, Lander University The Center of Creative Leadership programming Graduate coursework, Queens University Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education, UNC Greensboro
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought or held): No.
Please list your highlights of civic involvement:
-Established a satellite office and recruited volunteer staff for Crisis Assistance Ministry -Family Promise Ministry volunteer -Room In The Inn volunteer -Educator and PTO members at Chantilly and Park Road Schools -Testing proctor and classroom volunteer with CMS
What are the most important issues in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools today, and how would you address them?
Students and teachers must be safe in our schools. Each school has unique safety issues and I will work with County Commissioners to address them. Student mental health is at a crisis point and students can’t learn when struggling with mental health. Teachers are often the first to see students struggling, and early identification and intervention is key. We need to fully leverage existing resources and put more counselors in our schools to support struggling students before it’s too late.
How can the district improve student performance, close achievement gaps and get schools off the state’s low-performing list? (There were 56 CMS campuses on the low-performing list during the 2023-24 school year and 32 in the 2024-25 school year):
As a former CMS teacher, I know students need foundational reading skills, not test taking strategies, to prepare for advanced learning; and I know access to resources can launch or ground a student’s education. We must connect students with targeted academic resources and continue to access community resources. Also, many struggling schools have high percentages of ESL learners. We need to adequately staff schools to teach ESL learners English.
How should the school system handle decisions by the federal government that you may disagree with or that negatively affect the district? And how should the district communicate with the public about the effects of those decisions?
We must continue to lead with our values, and our community must stay true to our value of equal education for all students. CMS must do what’s necessary to protect our funding while also protecting our students. Our community deserves transparency; people need to know where the Board stands and why decisions are made. Information should be proactively communicated and easy to understand.
Teacher shortages remain a challenge across North Carolina and the nation. What do you believe CMS needs to do in order to attract teachers and keep experienced ones in the classroom?
We need to improve the teacher experience and adequately pay our teachers. Teachers need to feel valued as CMS employees and important members of our community. The state sets teacher pay, but I’ll work with County Commissioners to increase the local supplement. We must also incentivize retainment. The state scale negatively impacts pay equity; experienced teachers are not given the same percentage increases as new teachers. The local supplement needs to balance the scale to reward experience.
What separates you from your opponents and makes you the best choice on November’s ballot?
As a teacher for 20 years, I understand how CMS policies impact teachers and students on a daily basis and I understand how students learn. As a former business leader, I also know how to solve systemic problems, leverage resources and manage successful projects. I am uniquely qualified and ready to address the issues we face now and plan for the future. If elected, I’ll ask the hard questions, support and protect our students and teachers, giving our community the school district it deserves.
This story was originally published October 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
