Retired teacher Sabrina Daniel wants to focus on academics as a Hamilton County school board member.
“I love children, and I love students,” she said in an interview. “Ultimately, that’s the bottom line, making wise decisions for 45,000 students … particularly in the East Ridge area.”
Daniel, a Republican from East Ridge, and Democrat Katie Perkins of East Ridge are seeking to replace Larry Grohn, R-East Ridge, as the District 8 representative on the Hamilton County school board. The district includes the East Ridge area.
Before retiring, Daniel, 69, spent 15 years teaching prekindergarten through fifth grade at public schools in Hamilton County and North Georgia, as well as two years teaching at a private Christian school. She continued to substitute teach until 2024, and she said that has given her a sense of how schools and needs have changed.
“I do think you need some people who’ve had boots on the ground and who know what it’s like to be in the classroom to make good decisions,” she said.
She was raised in Chattanooga and graduated from East Ridge High, she said.
If elected, Daniel plans to emphasize going back to the basics, which for her include reading, writing and math. Academics have to come first, she said, and she’s a big proponent of using phonics – teaching children that letters represent sounds and how to put sounds together to make words – to teach reading.
She wants to continue or expand character education programs, which help students develop positive values and become good citizens, and the Bible in Schools program, she said. School safety is also among her top concerns, she said, and depending on budget availability, she would support placing metal detectors at every school, she said.
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Ensuring teachers want to work for Hamilton County Schools, Daniel said, requires both funding and developing a culture that appreciates and encourages them.
“Teaching is a really hard job, and unless you’ve done it, you probably don’t understand how hard it is,” she said. “Today, it is much harder than when I did it. There’s more paperwork. There’s more demands. There’s less autonomy. Teachers appreciate it when they’re treated like they have a mind and that they can think outside the box and they produce results with their kids.”
(READ MORE: Hamilton County students show improvement on state tests)
She also supports an idea officials presented several months ago to build affordable housing for teachers and staff on district-owned property. That would help ensure teachers can afford to live in Chattanooga, she said, and it’s something she would have loved when she was a teacher.
School board candidates are elected to four-year terms.
Melony Stover, a retired civil servant who is friends with Daniel, said Daniel has a love for children, and the two of them are both passionate about ensuring students can read and do math at grade level.
“I think she will give this position all of her attention and do the very best,” Stover said by phone. “I know she’s very driven. When she takes on a task, she’s very conscientious. She shows up when she’s supposed to show up. She’s not going to take the job lightly. She’s going to do the very best she can.”
OFFICE DETAILS
Duties: Approving the budget, creating policy, hiring and evaluating the superintendent
Schools represented: East Ridge Elementary, East Ridge Middle, East Ridge High, Spring Creek Elementary
Key issues: Facilities, school staffing, preparing students for the workforce
Start date: Sept. 1
Salary: Around $14,300
THE ELECTION
The general election is Aug. 6, and early voting runs July 17-Aug. 1.
WHERE THE CANDIDATES STAND
Curriculum and books
“The curriculum that’s set in place by the state should be followed. The librarians who work in Hamilton County Schools have to have a master’s degree, so I feel like they should be treated like the professionals that they are, but I mean there’s always issues. If a parent has a problem with a book that their child is reading, of course, bring that to the teacher’s attention and take it as it goes. I’m very much against banning books, but there is a balance. I do appreciate parental involvement as far as curriculum goes and books go because, as a parent, there’s books that I don’t want my kids reading at a young age.”
– Katie Perkins, Democrat
“The law also says certain books are not going to be in our Tennessee schools. Whether we like it or not, that is the law, and that should be enforced. Now, figuring out how to enforce is harder, that’s going to need some outside of the box thinking. … But there’s certain things we don’t want our children learning, and that’s what the state people decided, and I happen to agree with them.”
– Sabrina Daniel, Republican
School-based mental health providers
“I’m in conflict here because I don’t really want them coming into our schools either during the day, especially during the day and taking up academic time, and rather not before school or after school or lunch. But I do like the idea that we would share a list of possibilities that a parent could choose from and take care of for themselves to do the appointment.”
– Sabrina Daniel, Republican
“I appreciate the fact that we reinstated Centerstone. … We added four more, so yay, I like choice and I like that parents have the choice. Mental health counseling should be in schools, and I promote choice.”
– Katie Perkins, Democrat
Contact education reporter Shannon Coan at scoan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.