The election special edition
Hello and welcome to School Zone. This is education reporter Meghan Mangrum, coming at you with a special election edition of School Zone.
Early voting is already open for the Davidson County primary election on May 3, and a new cast of characters is on the ballot for the first time this year: Metro Nashville school board members.
For the first time this year, many candidates are running for the Democratic or Republican party nomination before they'll appear on the August general election ballot.
Three out of four races have an incumbent running, but one district will see a completely new representative as a result of this year's elections.
Rock star Tennessean intern Clare Amari and I attended several candidate forums and spoke with each school board candidate about the issues most important to them — and to Metro Nashville Public Schools families.
Keep reading for our breakdown of each race.
District 2
The expansion of charter schools, how board members should engage with their constituents, and student and staff retention are key flashpoints in the District 2 race.
Incumbent Rachael Anne Elrod is running for reelection as a Democrat. Her opponents in the Aug. 4 general election will be Edward Arnold, an independent, and one of three Republican candidates.
The candidates seeking the GOP nomination include a music and drama director at a private Montessori school in Brentwood and a captain in the Tennessee Army National Guard.
Keep reading to learn more about each candidate.
District 4
The District 4 race got more heated last week when news broke that six current board members are endorsing their colleague John Little's opponent, Berthena Nabaa-McKinney.
Appointed by the Metro Council in 2020, Nabaa-McKinney served a few months on the board before losing to Little during a special election that year to replace the late board chair Anna Shepherd.
Little, a charter school proponent and parent advocate, sometimes butts heads with other board members.
Both are running as Democrats in next week's primary. The winner will face off against Republican Kelli Phillips, a political newcomer and long-time MNPS parent, who has garnered the support of conservative groups like Moms for Liberty and Tennessee Stands.
Find out more about the District 4 race here.
District 6
A school board member, a former school board member and a teacher are on the ballot to represent one of Nashville's fastest growing and most diverse districts.
Incumbent Fran Bush is running as an independent to keep her seat representing District 6, the Antioch area of Southeast Nashville.
Often the sole voice of dissent on the current board, Bush will face off against the winner of the May 3 primary: either Natalie Martin, a middle school English teacher, or Cheryl Mayes, a former school board chair and current district director for retiring Nashville congressman U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper.
Note: Mayes was the only District 6 candidate to appear alongside some current board members and Director of Schools Adrienne Battle at an event at Lipscomb University last week announcing a new partnership between the university and Antioch High School. Read more about that announcement here.
District 8
The race for the board's only open seat, left vacated when incumbent Gini Pupo-Walker announced she wouldn't run for reelection in January, is turning into a contentious one.
Some believe the race between three J.T. Moore Middle School parents will be decided by the May 3 Democratic primary with voters either choosing Erin O'Hara Block, former executive director of a research alliance between the state education department and Vanderbilt University, or former candidate Chris Moth.
But independent Amy Pate might be a formidable candidate for the Democratic nominee. Pate has also been a vocal supporter — and critic — of the district over the past several years, co-founded Let Nashville Parents Choose and has raised nearly $9,000 according to first-quarter financial disclosures. Keep reading.
Extra credit
► Live in Williamson County? My colleague Anika Exum breaks down the candidates for Williamson County school board here.
► In Wilson County, Republicans dominate the primary ballot. Tennessean reporter Andy Humbles reports the full story.
► Not every county is holding partisan elections for school board this year, despite a new state law allowing it. Neither the Democrat or Republican parties in Shelby County — home to Tennessee's largest school district — will endorse candidates after the parties opted out of holding partisan primaries, Chalkbeat Tennessee reports.
► OPINION: More than 70 candidates qualified for various races on the May 3 Davidson County primary ballot. The Tennessean Editorial Board sent out questionnaires to dozens of candidates, including school board members. Check out their answers here.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: The election special edition
