But in socioeconomic and political terms, the districts are close cousins and, for that reason, Rhonda Lennon, District 1's representative on the nine-member Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, has strong feelings about the board's recent vote to fill the vacant District 6 seat.
Lennon describes District 6 as even more conservative and even more Republican-tilted than her home district, and she believes the appointment of the Rev. Amelia Stinson-Wesley, a Democrat, to fill the district's board seat, could have significant repercussions as the board begins the process of tackling a challenging 2012 agenda.
"I hope not," Lennon says early this week when asked if Stinson-Wesley's appointment will have a negative impact on future board cooperation, "but this was definitely not a positive step. This was a decision made along partisan lines. I am trying not to be super-negative about the impact this will have, but I am concerned, definitely concerned, about the message this sends, especially when we have so many important decisions to make."
The immediate issues on the board's plate include adopting a budget and continuing the process of selecting a new superintendent. Those decisions and others will establish the system's priorities and policies for the future and Lennon says the controversy surrounding the recent appointment does not get the process off to a good start.
"My thoughts on this, and I have been very public about this," she says, "is that we should appoint someone to the board who District 6 would elect. I think we needed to look for someone who was engaged in education, who was knowledgeable about the issues we are facing. And that is exactly what did not happen."
The need to fill the seat came about after Republican Tim Morgan, who previously represented District 6, won an at-large seat on the board in November's election. Twelve candidates expressed an interest in filling the seat on what is supposed to be a non-partisan board. Two of those candidates, including Stinson-Wesley, were Democrats and the board approved the appointment by a 5-3 margin, with five Democrats voting in favor of the appointment.
"There was definitely some dissension in the air during the meeting," Lennon says.
And when asked about the non-partisan nature of the board of education, she was more succinct.
"Bullcrap," she says.
Lennon says representatives' party affiliations are an understood characteristic of the board but usually become a secondary factor when making decisions that impact the entire school district.
"Most of our split vote decisions have involved bi-partisan agreement," she says, "but this one was straight along party lines."
Lennon says she has agreed in the past to go along on some issues when enough votes were already secured in order to present a united front, but she did not see that as a viable option on the appointment of Stinson-Wesley, who will represent District 6 for the next two years. The next school board district seat election will be in 2013.
"On this issue, I don't think there was a place for compromise," Lennon says. "My board chair asked if I would go along if we had enough votes and I said I could not if you present someone who is diametrically opposed to what the people of their district want.
"Historically," she says, "District 6 is more conservative than my district and, while I'm not 100 percent sure of the numbers, I know District 6 has more Republicans. I know compromise is important, but I always refer to the JFK quote that while compromise is necessary, you can compromise on issues, but not principles."
The board held its first budget work session Tuesday and subsequent budget meetings are scheduled for Jan. 24 and Feb. 14. In addition, the schedule calls for superintendent candidate interviews to be held in March and the board expects to complete the hiring process before the end of the school year.
"I can't imagine stepping in at this point and taking part in discussions and votes," Lennon says of the new District 6 representative. "There is a lot of catching up to do."
