KANNAPOLIS — Natasha Lipscomb, running for one of two seats available to Cabarrus County candidates on the Kannapolis City Schools Board of Education, says she can bring stability and transparency to the board.

Lipscomb, 39, has worked with educational institutions for nearly 20 years. She started working in Kannapolis City Schools as a special populations counselor after she and husband Barry moved to the area in 1999. Currently, Lipscomb works at RCCC as director of student life and leadership.

While she’s never held public office before, Lipscomb has served on several boards, including the State Employees’ Credit Union advisory board, the YMCA board and working with the Chamber of Commerce’s leadership program.

Lipscomb was approached about serving on the Board of Education when a previous board member, Millie Hall, resigned last summer. Lipscomb submitted a letter of interest, and was one of three final candidates considered for the appointment. When the board chose Daniel Wallace to fill the position, Lipscomb said she was disappointed.

“I was a bit discouraged to be honest with you,” she said.

But she decided to run in the election, confident that her background in education, her commitment to Kannapolis City Schools and her ability to make good decisions would speak for her.

Lipscomb comes from a family of educators committed to Kannapolis City Schools.

“It’s a family affair,” she said.

Her husband, a Kannapolis native, works as a school counselor and football coach at A.L. Brown. Her daughter, a graduate of A.L. Brown, excelled during her time in Kannapolis City Schools, and her son, a student at Kannapolis Middle is doing the same.

If elected, Lipscomb wants to focus on transparency between the board and the community. She also wants to address Kannapolis City Schools’ recent classification as a low-performing school district. The label is more than just a reflection of test scores, Lipscomb said, it causes students and teachers to second guess themselves, and can deter businesses from entering a community.

“It’s far reaching and it’s deeply rooted,” she said.

One of the things the board can do to help is to closely study what state requirements are for instruction, and move to match them.

“We’ve got to hold ourselves accountable so the state doesn’t have to,” she said.

If elected, she said she hopes to make the people of Kannapolis feel like they’re a part of a system that impacts them so deeply.

Only residents living within the Kannapolis City Schools district may vote for board candidates. Voting for the Kannapolis Board of Education will be on March 15, in conjunction with the North Carolina primary. Newly elected members will be sworn in at the board’s April meeting.