‘Regained my energy.’ CMS board member says she’ll run for reelection after all
Reversing a May decision, Rhonda Cheek will run to keep her Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools board seat.
About three months after she tearfully announced she was retiring and stepping away from public office, Cheek filed for District 1 on Thursday.
“There is so much work to do to improve academic outcomes for all students, to ensure safe schools and to make sure we are being thoughtful stewards of the taxpayers money,” Cheek, a registered nurse, told The Charlotte Observer. “Having an experienced and effective representative from District 1 is essential to getting that work done.”
Cheek, who has represented District 1 for 13 years, told the Observer she dealt with health issues for 18 months prior to the May announcement.
“By spring 2022, I was increasingly concerned about my stamina and what health battles I may be facing, including real concerns about a cancer diagnosis,” she said. “I was rapidly losing weight and facing almost constant pain and anxiety, and every facet of my life was being impacted. This led to the decision to step away from reelection and focus solely on my health.”
Cheek says she finally received a diagnosis in June: bulging pouches in her digestive system and a perforated colon. She was hospitalized, had surgery and has almost fully recovered.
“I have regained my energy, strength and vitality; I also have peace of mind,” she said. “While I never lost my passion and drive to work for our students, families and staff, my feisty spirit has now been renewed.”
Cheek, a graduate of South Mecklenburg High School and a Mecklenburg County resident since she was 16, was elected to the school board in 2009.
Prior to her work on the board, Cheek started Families United for North Mecklenburg Education in 2003. She served on several education-related committees and the board of Charlotte Advocates for Education. She has three children who graduated from CMS schools.
“Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and its success matter to me,” she said. “And the children of Mecklenburg County are depending on us.”
Cheek enters an already-crowded District 1 race, with filing closing at noon Friday. She joins Hamani Fisher, pastor of Life Center International and member of the African American Faith Alliance, Ro Lawsin, who grew up in Columbia, South Carolina, and Melissa Easley, a parent who spent 10 years teaching in northern Mecklenburg County.
Who else filed for school board?
The board’s six district seats are on the ballot this year. Filing opened July 25. As of Thursday, 15 candidates have filed to run for BOE seats.
Incumbent Thelma Byers-Bailey will face Monty Witherspoon, pastor of Steele Creek AME Zion Church and member of the African American Faith Alliance, and Juanrique Hall for a District 2 seat.
In District 3, Gregory “Dee” Rankin, a Charlotte native and former CMS educator, and Steven Rushing filed.
Clara Kennedy Witherspoon will face incumbent Carol Sawyer in District 4, which starts on the east side of I-77 and stretches to the county line in eastern Mecklenburg County.
Lisa Cline, a retired CMS educator, filed to for District 5, which includes the Myers Park area, Providence High and Matthews. Cline will face Trent Merchant, who previously served as an at-large representative on the school board from 2006 to 2011. Margaret Marshall was elected to the school board in 2017 as the District 5 representative, but announced in May that she would not seek reelection.
Sean Strain, who was elected to the board in 2017, will run again for District 6. Summer Nunn, who has served on a CMS School Parent Leadership Team, also has filed for a District 6 seat.
The at-large seats for board chair Elyse Dashew, Jennifer De La Jara and Lenora Shipp hold are not up for reelection this cycle.
BOE members make $1,574.33 per month. The board chairperson makes $1,967.91 per month.
