Memphis-Shelby County Schools board elections: Read our Q&A with District 3 candidates
In February, the Memphis-Shelby County Board of Education selected Marie Feagins to be the district’s next superintendent. In June, it gave her the green light to slash hundreds of positions and passed a $1.8 billion budget. It regularly approves or denies lucrative district contracts, and it decides the fate of charter school applications. Its members advocate for the schools they represent and frequently hear from their constituents.
Needless to say, the board plays a consequential role in shaping the course of MSCS ― and soon, its makeup could drastically change.
Five of the nine board seats are up for grabs in the Shelby County General Election on Aug. 1. Four current board members are running for re-election and facing multiple challengers, and a fifth has decided not to pursue another term.
Candidates are vying for the chance to represent districts 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7, and the winners will be sworn in this September and receive a four-year term on the board. The Commercial Appeal reached out to all candidates and asked them what they plan to do if elected.
Here’s what the candidates for District 3 said.
Some responses have been edited slightly for length, formatting and clarity.
Jesse Jeff
64, Director of Security at St. James A.M.E. Church, retired teacher
Talk about your background. What qualifies you to be a school board commissioner?
My background is in law enforcement and education. I taught in this district for over two decades that affords me an intimate knowledge of exactly what parents, students, and teachers need. I also served as a Deputy Sheriff which makes me acutely aware of safety and security.
MSCS has set significant academic goals, particularly when it comes to third-grade literacy. How do you think that, as a school board commissioner, you can help improve student performance?
I think as a school board member a strong and robust pre-K, as well as highly qualified K-2 teachers will go a long way in increasing third-grade literacy.
MSCS is facing about $1 billion in deferred maintenance and is putting together a comprehensive infrastructure plan. What are your priorities for the district’s infrastructure?
My priorities would be to repair or replace HVAC systems throughout the district. There should be no excuse for students and staff not being comfortable. Furthermore, as a teacher I knew that if students were hungry, they couldn't learn. I think when the breakfast and lunches were prepared in house, they were more wholesome and nourishing, as opposed to being trucked in. Finally, the students, parents, and staff should feel safe in the buildings without the fear of a roof collapse.
Is there anything else you’d like to say about your campaign and aspirations to join the school board?
There is a phrase in education called fresh start. The school board needs to be fresh started. The new superintendent needs and deserves a new school board. The status quo makes our board stagnant and without new ideas. These school board positions should not be lifelong positions, or stepping stones for higher office. It's about the children should be more than a cliche for everyone as it is for me.
Stephanie Love (incumbent)
43, part-time manager, Magic Style Studio
Talk about your background. What qualifies you to be a school board commissioner?
I am a parent of 4 students that all went to Memphis and Shelby County Schools I am a grandmother of 3 beautiful grandchildren. My grandson attends Head Start at Scenic Hills Elementary School which is in my district. I believe in parent voices, and community voices. We all have a part to play in educating our children. I work to improve the schools not just in my district, but all over the school system.
I go to the capitol at least 4 times a year to advocate for better funding, more resources, and better communication with our general assembly. I visit the schools in my district regularly, not just MSCS, but charter schools, the Achievement School District schools, and private schools. I also advocate for city and county improvements. I am passionate about the work. I was elected, 10-years ago and every school in Frayser was on the priority list except 2 of them. I am happy to say that Trezevant High School, Georgiana Hills Middle School, Hawkin Hills Middle, Grandview Middle School are not on the list. Whitney Elementary is a reward School and Memphis Business Academy is a reward school.
I am committed to the children of Memphis-Shelby County Schools. I am committed to having a seat at the table. I’m committed to listening and I take time to read and go to meetings about all things in my district. I’m always in my community.
MSCS has set significant academic goals, particularly when it comes to third-grade literacy. How do you think that, as a school board commissioner, you can help improve student performance?
Visit the schools and see what is working at those high performing schools in reading. There program can become a model in the district. Identify the children who have low reading scores, because they may be truant, transient and or have an underlying disability. All of those play a significant reason why our students can’t read. What works in Orange Mound, may not work in Raleigh or in the incorporated area.
MSCS is facing about $1 billion in deferred maintenance and is putting together a comprehensive infrastructure plan. What are your priorities for the district’s infrastructure?
More funding is a priority. We are talking to the community as we go through the Infrastructure assessment process. Merging schools is always a challenge for our communities. It takes hard work and has to be intentional. Sometimes it doesn’t benefit a community, that’s the reason community input is important.
No student should have to enter a building, with (a) roof leak, it is dark, and it is cold within the winter months and hot in summer months. That is a disaster for academics. I haven’t seen the plan yet and I don’t know what is in it. I know the district uses, utilization, academics and deferred maintenance when closing a school.
Is there anything else you’d like to say about your campaign and aspirations to stay on the school board?
Although, I have had two strokes, I’m still committed to (running) my school board race.
For 10 years, I have been a school member, I have been committed. I haven’t waivered on my aspirations. I have grown within these last 10 years and I have grown for my district and my community. Love makes the world go round, why not choose me for the next 4 years. Everyone needs Love. I am not oblivious of the challenges that face our community. I fight for to alleviate ― crime, poor housing, and health care disparities.
We did not get this way overnight, and it is going to take some time to make additional progress. I have seen some positive changes. It is up to the community to take a part in this for things to change. I am part of the community.
Ozell Pace Jr.
32, Site Operations Manager for Open Arms Care
Talk about your background. What qualifies you to be a school board commissioner?
I led a Summer School and Afterschool program focusing on math, writing, and reading for years. That program saw so much great success. It was then that I found my passion for changing lives. I assisted with developing a rigorous curriculum that allowed the staff to educate the youth properly. No one is indeed qualified to be a school board commissioner.
However, I have what it takes to follow the guidelines outlined by the Tennessee School Board Association. Because I have hired, trained, and developed staff, I am confident in my abilities to retain the current superintendent, hold her accountable, and work alongside her to fulfill her vision for the district.
MSCS has set significant academic goals, particularly when it comes to third-grade literacy. How do you think that, as a school board commissioner, you can help improve student performance?
First, I fully understand that I myself cannot go into the classrooms and teach the children or even train the teachers. However, as a School Board Commissioner, I can ensure that the fiscal budget reflects that I am committed to investing in student performance. We can do that by paying our Literacy/Reading Coaches more and partnering with agencies with a proven literacy track record.
MSCS is facing about $1 billion in deferred maintenance and is putting together a comprehensive infrastructure plan. What are your priorities for the district’s infrastructure?
Sadly, the previous administrations did not prioritize our facilities' maintenance, renovation, and revitalization in previous fiscal budgets. I understand that a team has walked through each building and seen what can and can not be salvaged. As I stated during my entire campaign, we must think outside the box with these facilities. We need to have a challenging conversation and ask ourselves if certain facilities can be renovated or if we need to demolish and build a new facility.
My priority is to ensure that we are maximizing our time and resources during breaks and the summer months to conduct these renovations. Sadly, some schools will be closed, but they should remain vacant at no time. Either we sell it immediately or demolish it so that it is not an eyesore to the community.
Is there anything else you’d like to say about your campaign and aspirations to join the school board?
I am running for the Memphis-Shelby County School Board because I believe in the power of education to transform lives. I want to ensure that our schools are well-funded, our educators are supported, and we operate with complete transparency and accountability. Our youth deserve a quality education, and I am committed to making that a reality.
Angela Rogers
58, caregiver and advocate
Rodgers did not provide a photo with the questionnaire.
Talk about your background. What qualifies you to be a school board commissioner?
I believe that what qualifies me to serve as a commissioner is multifaceted. I have a history of serving District 3 families in some capacity or another since 1999. I have training through the Urban Youth Initiative which taught me how to earn the right to be heard with our youth. I served as an in-house sub and volunteer staff for eight years at Trezevant High School as well other schools in the district and city-wide. My outreach experience has allowed me to make a generational impact that includes teen parents, their children, and their parents as well. I’ve been an advocate for the well-being of our scholars and their families socially, emotionally, economically, physically and spiritually.
I have fostered relationships with teachers, scholars, administrators, community leaders, and organizations over the past 20-plus years. The more I canvass and knock on doors, I am reminded almost every day of the impact God has allowed me to make. It is so far reaching and literally brings tears to my eyes. The warm memories of people who have not forgotten my work leaves me in awe and is constant reminder of the greater work we can do together on the Shelby County School Board.
MSCS has set significant academic goals, particularly when it comes to third-grade literacy. How do you think that, as a school board commissioner, you can help improve student performance?
Early literacy with a special focus on our third graders is a top priority for me. It tugs at my heart and if I might say, makes me pound the table. Because I believe that early literacy begins at home, I will begin by using my influence to draw in parents and grandparents and all stakeholders to restore THE VILLAGE approach to improve academic outcomes overall. I am bold in my ask for all of us to engage and take ownership of our roles and responsibility to actively engage in the process and exhibit to our scholars that their education is important.
I am not afraid to compel a mom working long hours to give up fifteen minutes of her ‘Netflix and chill ’time to read to her children and allow them to read to her. This simple practice will help parents become fully aware of the areas of struggle for their children. I was that single parent working 14-hour days and going to school, so I know we can do it. The sacrifice is heavy, but if we don’t do it society will suffer more devastating blows. We can and we must because when the children win, We All Win! As a school board commissioner, I will work to:
Empower parents who may not be readers themselves
Provide a safe place for transparency around that
Dismantle the pipeline to prison beast
Restore the self-esteem of our scholars through literacy
Review curriculums that are working across the country and pivot where it makes sense, to get the outcomes our scholar and our district deserves
Ensure that long before third grade we are assessing, engaging and implementing strategies for better outcomes
MSCS is facing about $1 billion in deferred maintenance and is putting together a comprehensive infrastructure plan. What are your priorities for the district’s infrastructure?
I believe that as we restore the village, the neighborhood schools have always been an anchor. I believe every child deserves the best options and access to high quality education no matter what neighborhood. All children are capable of learning and do so best in a safe environment that does not threaten their physical or psychological health. They deserve learning spaces that communicate that their CITY and community love them and believe in them enough to invest in them. We have to make the investment. Our children are worth it and when the children WIN, we all WIN! Let’s stop deferring and get it done.
John Klyce covers education and children's issues for The Commercial Appeal. You can reach him at John.klyce@commercialappeal.com.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis-Shelby County Schools District 3 election candidates Q&A
