Four Knox County school board seats are up for election in 2024. See who's running

Areena Arora, Knoxville News Sentinel
Updated ·3 min read

The primary election for the Knox County Board of Education is coming up March 5 and four out of the nine districts will have a race.

Seats for Districts 2, 3, 5 and 8 are up for reelection this time around. This is only the second election since Tennessee law changed to force partisan races for school boards.

Knox County previously had partisan school board elections — and even the superintendent was elected on a partisan ticket at one time — but those policies changed over 20 years ago.

The deadline to register vote is Feb. 5 and early voting begins Feb. 14. Election Day is March 5.

Get to know the 2024 Knox County Commission, Knox County law director, Knox County property assessor and judge candidates! See the list here.

Here's who will be on the ballot for the Knox County school board.

Knox County Board of Education districts 2, 3, 5 and 8 are up for election in 2024
Knox County Board of Education districts 2, 3, 5 and 8 are up for election in 2024

District 2

The district covers the North Knoxville communities served by Central and Fulton high schools. Incumbent Jennifer Owen is running again. She is an independent.

Democrat:

  • Anne Templeton has been the parent-teacher association president at Beaumont Magnet Academy and has served as the board president at Shora Foundation, an East Knoxville nonprofit that provides a safe community for children.

Independents:

  • Owen is running again. She has been on the board since 2016. She worked as a teacher for Knox County schools for 18 years.

  • Pat Polis has served as an Army officer with three combat tours under his belt and has worked in the private sector as well as served as a pastor. Two of his children graduated from Fulton High School and Polis has lived in Knox County since 1993. He is deeply involved with veterans-related community organizations.

District 3

District 3 has attracted three candidates. Incumbent Daniel Watson has decided not to run again because he wants to focus on his nonprofits full time. The district covers the Cedar Bluff schools.

Democrat:

  • Patricia Fontenot-Ridley has been a teacher for 30 years and is retiring in May. She currently teaches at Belle Morris Elementary school. She grew up going to District 3 schools before graduating from Farragut High School.

Republicans:

  • Robert Daspit has lived in Bearden for over 30 years. He served in the Air Force for over eight years. He has worked for Knox County Schools as a substitute teacher, as a physical education teacher at Austin-East Magnet High and Powell High School 2021-23 and briefly as a special education teacher at Vine Middle Magnet School in fall 2023.

  • Angie Goethert has volunteered for years in her children's classrooms and served as the parent-teacher association president at Hardin Valley Academy. In 2021, she helped lead an unsuccessful lawsuit against Knox County Schools over its COVID-19 mask mandate.

District 5

The district covers far-west communities including Farragut. Incumbent Susan Horn has decided not to run again.

Democrat:

  • Terrye Whitaker has a bachelor's degree in education. She moved to Knoxville in 1981. Whitaker has worked for the University of Tennessee and has served as a substitute teacher with the district. Whitaker's daughter graduated from Farragut High School.

Republican:

  • Lauren Morgan has three children in Farragut schools and has been deeply involved volunteering in various capacities.

District 8

The eastern-most district in the county has the Carter and Gibbs schools. Incumbent Mike McMillan is not running again.

Republicans:

  • Tommy Lakins graduated from Fulton High School and earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Lakins works for U.S. Bank.

  • Travis Wright grew up in the Gibbs community, graduating from Gibbs High School in 1998. He worked in banking for 15 years and now runs his own electronics business. Wright has a 13-year-old son who goes to Gibbs Middle School.

This story has been updated to correct Robert Daspit's teaching experience in Knox County Schools.

Areena Arora, data and investigative reporter for Knox News, can be reached by email at areena.arora@knoxnews.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @AreenaArora.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knox County school board candidates 2024: Who's running in the primary