George Ricks faces faces multiple candidates in school board election

The four Hamilton County Board of Education members running for re-election this fall face competition, and across the county, people are calling this the most significant school board election in memory.

January changed the landscape for the upcoming election, which looked relatively uninteresting until the rape of an Ooltewah High School freshman, allegedly by three of his basketball teammates, just days before Christmas. The months after that incident spiked the community’s interest in the school system, and the school board’s leadership was challenged.

Looking ahead, the school board is expected to make a series of critical decisions about the district’s strategic vision and next leader. School board members Rhonda Thurman, Jonathan Welch, George Ricks and Donna Horn each hope they will still be helping make these decisions after the August election.

Many of the seven candidates who qualified to challenge the incumbents say they are running on a platform of change and progress, stating concerns about the district’s low test scores, school inequality, and a lack of effective leadership.

In District 4, Ricks faces multiple candidates as Montrell Besley, Tiffanie Robinson and Annette Thompson qualified to run against him.

Ricks said he is glad people are running in the race and want to get involved in the school system. He said that win or lose he will continue to do what he does to support his community.

“I’m running because I have an undying love for kids,” he said.

Robinson, president of Lamp Post Properties and partner at the JumpFund, said the great public education she received in Tampa, Fla., is one of her motivations for seeking election.

“I’ve often wondered why our school system here isn’t better,” she said. “Why aren’t the schools good for everyone?”

Robinson said she was born to a 16-year-old single mother, and that her background is similar to that of many kids in Hamilton County. She said that experience, coupled with her professional and entrepreneurial background, brings a needed diversity to the board, adding that she is also a Millennial, and as a mom of young children she plans to enroll them in District 4 schools.

Besley teaches health and physical education at Woodmore Elementary School, and said he and his kids are products of the public education system.

“I am motivated to better represent my district and make the necessary sound decisions and changes that will improve the communities I will represent,” Besley said.

He plans to focus on improving teacher recruitment and retention, fighting for school equality and developing community schools.

Annette Thompson did not return multiple requests for comment.