All five Hamilton County school board seats up for election this year will have contested races.
Fifteen people — including two incumbents and several previous candidates — submitted qualifying petitions by the deadline Thursday.
The primary is May 5, and the general election is Aug. 6.
When the winners are sworn in next fall, they’ll be joining a young school board. Of the 11-member board, at least eight won’t have served a full term, and none will have served longer than four years.
Three incumbents — Karitsa Jones, D-Chattanooga; Joe Smith, R-Hixson; and Larry Grohn, R-East Ridge — are not seeking another term. Jones, the board’s longest-serving member, was first elected in 2014, and Smith joined the board in 2016.
The school board is responsible for appointing and overseeing the superintendent, creating district policies and approving the budget. Hamilton County Schools serves more than 44,500 students and operates 81 buildings.
THE RACES
In District 3, which includes the Hixson and Lakesite areas, this election marks the first time since the Chattanooga City and Hamilton County school systems merged in 1997 that there is not an incumbent on the ballot. Over the past three decades, every District 3 representative until Smith has stepped down mid-term, prompting the Hamilton County Commission to appoint a replacement, who has then run and won election for a full-term.
This year, the race drew the most interest of any county election with eight people having picked up papers to run. Four — Republican Ashley Dillon, Republican Tom Marshall, Democrat Ruth Walker and independent Sandy Pricer — ultimately qualified.
Democrats Micah Chapman and Thessela White are vying for the District 5 seat. The district includes the Brainerd and Tyner areas.
The winner of that May primary will most likely assume office in the fall as no Republican or independent candidate has submitted a qualifying candidate petition.
In District 6, school board member Ben Connor, D-Chattanooga, faces a challenge from Republican Cindy Fain. The district includes the Red Bank and North Chattanooga areas.
District 8, which represents the East Ridge area, will feature two primary contests.
Sabrina Daniel and Sterling DuPré have both qualified for the Republican primary, and Katie Perkins and Betty Duggan are running in the Democratic primary. The winners of each of those elections will face each other in August.
In District 9, which includes the Harrison and Birchwood areas, school board member Gary Kuehn, R-Ooltewah, faces a challenge from Republican James Walker. The winner of the Republican primary will run against Democrat Jordan Hammond in the general election.
That primary will be a rematch of the one in 2022 in which Walker, who was appointed to the school board in August 2021 by the Hamilton County Commission to fill a vacancy, lost to Kuehn.
Hamilton County Board of Education members are elected to four-year terms. They must have lived in the county for one year, live in the district they represent and file proof with the county Election Commission they graduated high school or received a GED diploma.
Contact education reporter Shannon Coan at scoan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.