WCNC CMS BOE Questionnaire

Directions: Please fill out each question to the best of your ability. You may choose to answer
all, some, or none of the questions. This questionnaire will be used to inform voters in the
upcoming school board elections. Upon review by the WCNC Charlotte digital team, the answer
to your questions will be available on our voters’ guide page. The deadline to complete this
form is October 21st at 5 p.m. 

Background and Reasons for Seeking Election:

Why are you running for the Board of Education?
As a mom of 2 elementary school kids and a successful business executive, the past few years
have been frustrating with the revolving door at the superintendent position, overcrowding, poor
communication and transparency, teacher retention, and lack of focus on student outcomes at
CMS and wants to be a part of the change. I am also the proud daughter of a retired NC school
teacher and know our teachers need more and we need to prioritize education in our
community.  
If elected, what will be your priorities in the first 100 days on the board?
Everything goes back to student outcomes. We are going to improve those as a board by being
focused on what can impact student performance and success. The area the board needs to tackle
first is finding the right leadership at the superintendent level, and making sure given bonds will
be on the ballot in 2023 we re-evaluate overcrowding and facilities planning as that is due to be
complete in February 2023,
Given the role of the board, hiring a superintendent is going last and can lead a large
organization. 
CMS is 180 schools, has almost 20,000 staff, and services 140,000 students. We must find
someone who has success in a large organization shifting performance and employee satisfaction
as both need improvement for CMS. Given my background as a corporate executive who has
built high-performing teams that stay and don’t leave, I can provide a lot of guidance and help
here.  
Resource Allocation and Staff Feedback. Given we continue to lose teachers, we need to
understand why beyond the obvious living wage and have plans that we can work on now to help
improve their job conditions. We also need to understand if our budget allocation is allowing our
staff and schools to meet our student's needs equitably. We continue to have the same school on
the underperforming list. We need to figure out real issues and solutions to change that path.
Overcrowding and bond referendum proposal. In district 6 we are behind in building and
maintaining schools. We need to re-evaluate how we look at data in the short and long term as
schools are planned in 5-year increments. We also need to make sure we have magnet options
and choices equitably through Charlotte.  
In addition, the board needs to establish a better communication plan and work cohesively
together to build back trust with the community. Given my background in marketing and being a
corporate executive who builds brands and companies want to help the board establish better
practices. 

Is there a particular issue, that stands above all, that motivates you to serve on the board of
education?
As a corporate executive, I have seen great organizations fail because they have the wrong
people. It all comes down to leadership. 
Leadership on the board and leadership at the superintendent level.    We have board members
talk about accountability at the superintendent level but not themselves. 
The way CMS turns into a great school system is by getting the right leadership in place who is
going to be focused on Student Outcomes by listening to the communities vision and values to
achieve success. I also sit on the Student Improvement Team at my kid's elementary school and
have been frustrated by the lack of leadership, communication, and collaboration demonstrated
by the CMS superintendent, their leadership, and the guidance from the board. Goals get pushed
down but not plans based on how to solve the issues, so principals and staff are left to figure it
out. The strongest leadership I see right now is at the school level which is dealing with
disorganization and whiplash for lack and constant change of focus with new leadership every 1-
2 years with the revolving door at the superintendent level. Teachers and staff retention is tied
poor leadership which is also in crisis.

Election Campaign:
Have you received any donations or endorsements from any group(s)? If so, which groups?
Charlotte Mecklenburg Association of Educators (CMAE), EqualityNC, Charlotte Observer
Donations are from local community members and professional colleagues.  

Board of Education Governance: 

What do you see as the primary work of the board of education?
School systems exist to improve student outcomes and the role of the board is to make sure we
represent the communities in Mecklenburg County's visions and values to have all our kids reach
their highest potential. The board’s main function is to hire and oversee personnel
recommendations of the superintendent, manage, and secure the budget to make sure it is
allocated equitably, plan and provide adequate school facilities, and provide educational policy
within the limits while also overseeing state-level policies. 
They also need to work as a collective to be transparent, engaging, and a positive body to help
CMS move forward. 

How can a school board know if its goals are being accomplished and its policies are being
implemented?
By setting them and measuring them with both data, analysis, and qualitative feedback. This will
allow them to adjust if they are not improving outcomes. The board needs to work with the
superintendent, so they understand the board’s expectations and make sure there is a plan to
achieve the goals and policies.  

What is the best way to address differences of opinion on the board or between the board and the
administration?
Having multiple members focused on improving our school systems should allow us to get better
faster if we all stay rooted in student outcomes. Everyone has a right to voice their thoughts. The
group will need to allow discussion and debate, but post-decision need to move forward based on
the decision as a collective body. There are too many individualized goals and egos currently at
play on the board that distracts and seem to take the focus away from student outcomes. Trust,
honesty, and respect have to be established within the group.  
Could you support a board decision you did not vote in favor of? Why or why not?
A board is one body. 
Once a decision is made it should be supported. Finger pointing and I didn’t agree never helped
improve performance and public opinion.

Educational Program:
What issues do you believe your district needs to address in its academic program and offerings?
What changes would you recommend?
District 6 continues to face overcrowding and well as lacks magnets and choice. A good portion
of students that live in District 6 must travel out of the district for magnet programs at all levels.
Would like to see the planning of neighbor schools and magnets improve on an elementary level.
We need to move forward to individualized learning plans and grow career paths beyond the
standard testing for college prep. We need more programs for trades, science, business, arts, and
more.

What are your thoughts on your school district's programs for special education students, English
Language Learners (ELL), and gifted students?
I believe we need to understand all these areas better as they don’t get talked about enough nor
do we understand their impact on outcomes today and what we need to change that path for those
who have special needs, English as a second language as well as gifted students being
challenged. For a child to reach their fullest potential we must understand them and meet them
where they are now.  
What are your plans to improve the school district's academic disparities in Black and Hispanic
student scores on EOGs and EOCs?

We need to make sure we have individual evaluations and plans for each student so we
understand where they are today and can provide them in and out-of-classroom support through
staff and curriculum to focus on improving their scores. The curriculum should be evaluated to
understand if it is truly benefiting our students. We also need to make sure we understand outside
factors that are creating challenges for them such as food and housing insecurities.  

School Board and School Issues:

What do you see as the major issue(s) facing your school district? Public education?
Student Outcomes have struggled due to a lack of strong and consistent leadership on the board
and at the superintendent level. Teacher retention and satisfaction given leadership shortcomings,
societal tones and attacks, and pay isn’t a livable wage anymore. Continued underfunding and
leadership have led us here. 

Given all the issues that arise, how can the board stay focused on student achievement?
Everything we do should have a lens of improving student outcomes. We must have plans and
constantly measure our progress toward the plan and if they are improving outcomes.  

What changes should be made on the state and local levels regarding public education?
Commitment to invest in our kids and teachers. Leandro needs to be funded and we need to
commit to making the teaching profession a priority.