Memphis-Shelby County Schools has a newly elected school board following the Aug. 1 election, just in time for the upcoming school year.
In Tennessee’s largest school district, five of the nine seats on the school board — in Districts 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 — were up for election. It was the first election since board members selected former Detroit schools administrator Marie Feagins as superintendent, ending a drawn-out process that shook public confidence in the board.
Two incumbents lost their seats, including board Chair Althea Greene, who played a prominent role in the superintendent search. Natalie McKinney will replace Greene in District 2, while Sable Otey will replace board member Mauricio Calvo in District 5.
Tamarques Porter won the open seat in District 4, while Towanna Murphy is set to take the open seat in District 7. The incumbents did not run for re-election in those districts.
Stephanie Love, the longtime District 3 representative, is the only incumbent returning to the board.
Newly elected board members will oversee the district as it navigates a number of challenges, including the end of federal pandemic relief funds, budget cuts that will affect staff and programs, aging school buildings and possible closures, and the state’s new letter-grade school accountability system.
In our voter guide, Chalkbeat asked the 2024 board candidates about their vision for the district. We’ve compiled the answers below from Thursday’s election winners.
Chalkbeat lightly edited and condensed the submitted bios for clarity, but not their responses, other than adjusting the formatting to improve readability.
