School board candidates by district
District 1Rhonda Thurman, incumbentJason MosesPatti SkatesDistrict 2Jonathan Welch, incumbentKathy LennonDistrict 4George Ricks, incumbentMontrell BesleyTiffanie RobinsonAnnette ThompsonDistrict 7Donna Horn, incumbentJoe Wingate
The four Hamilton County Board of Education members running for reelection 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 1, Thurman faces competition from longtime local educator and politician Patti Skates and fireman Jason Moses.
This is Thurman's fourth school board election, and she plans to continue speaking boldly on behalf of her district.
"This is the first time that we are going to be able to start fresh since I was on the school board," Thurman said.
She hopes former Superintendent Rick Smith's successor will be an outsider who can restructure the central office and not be afraid to change programs that aren't' working, specifically mentioning the district's reading program.
Skates, the vice mayor of Soddy-Daisy, also works at Georgia Northwestern Technical College as a career transition specialist for dual enrollment students. She previously taught in several Hamilton County high schools and has been a Hamilton County Education Association board member for eight years.
"There needs to be a change," Skates said. "This change must provide the best opportunity for the students in Hamilton County to prepare them for life after graduation."
Skates said board members must work together to find solutions, adding that the Chattanooga 2.0 initiative provides insight into where the school system has room for improvement and what it is lacking.
Moses is a lieutenant with the Chattanooga Fire Department and a substitute teacher in Hamilton County Schools. He serves in the Parent Teacher Association at Falling Water Elementary, where two of his kids attend.
"I'm running because I want to get more stuff done for the students and teachers," he said. "More support for the children."
Thurman said she does not know Moses, but has concerns about Skates being elected because there are already several educators on the board, which she thinks needs to have more diverse opinions.
In District 4, Ricks also 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.
In District 7, Horn faces competition from Joe Wingate, also a longtime educator.
Horn said she hopes to be reelected so she can continue working to get foreign language into the district's elementary schools, increase vocational options for students and work toward positive solutions to bullying.
"I started a lot of things during the last four years that I want to finish," she said.
Horn said one of her greatest assets on the school board is that teachers and administrators trust and advise her.
"We know we have trouble. We know we have problems," Horn said of the school board. "We need more money to be able to implement the things we need."
Wingate, an assistant professor of exercise science and physical education at Chattanooga State Community College, said he thinks the school system is struggling, and that is to the detriment of the community.
"I am a proud Chattanoogan and want to see our schools become more of an asset to our town as opposed to a source of constant hardship," Wingate said.
He has been an educator for 18 years, 10 of which he spent in Hamilton County schools. If elected, he plans to advocate for a more transparent and communicative central office, a safer and more structured learning environment for all schools and to address the overall apathetic nature within the system by placing an increased emphasis on teachers and students, he said.
School board chairman Jonathan Welch, who ran unopposed last election in District 2, has Kathy Lennon running against him.
Lennon is the director of Chattanooga WorkSpace at the Chattanooga Market, and said she is running for the school board because she wants Hamilton County's public schools to be as innovative as the businesses in Chattanooga, and wants the board to put an increased focus on serving all students.
"Let's not let the progress that Chattanooga has made as a city pass by our school system and our students," Lennon said. "I believe that a school board must be responsive and receptive to teachers, parents, students, business leaders and the community at large, encouraging an open dialogue."
Welch, who has led the school board since last fall, said he is running again because the district has a chance to make positive changes.
"This is a rare opportunity to really have impactful change moving forward," Welch said.
Contact staff writer Kendi Anderson at kendi.anderson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592. Follow on Twitter @kendi_and.