The League of Women Voters of Knoxville/Knox County (LWVKKC) has partnered with the Knox County Teachers Association (KCTA) to develop a voter guide for all 13 School Board candidates and to hold two moderated candidate forums in order to inform voters about their choices for the Knox County Board of Education in the May 6 primary.
The voter guide will report the candidates’ answers to six questions proposed by interested citizens and focused on the major challenges facing the Knox County public schools as they balance state mandates, teacher needs, and most of all, make decisions that best serve our county’s students. The voter guide will be published by the Knoxville News Sentinel.
This non-partisan race will allow voters to determine their representative from the five districts. If there are three or more candidates in a district, the winner must receive 50% plus one of the total votes. If they do not, there will be a runoff in the August general election.

 

The first School Board candidate forum, for Districts 1 and 6, is scheduled for Thursday, March 27, 7:00 p.m., at the Cansler YMCA, 616 Jessamine Street.

 

The second candidate forum, for Districts 4, 7, and 9, will be held Tuesday, April 1, 7:00 p.m. in the Community Room of Pellissippi State Community College Magnolia Campus, 1610 East Magnolia Avenue.

 

The audience at both forums will be able to submit questions for the candidates to answer.

LWVKKC President, Kim Lauth, hopes that “citizens will inform themselves about the substance of the questions and pay careful attention to the candidates’ responses and that many voters will attend one or both forums. An informed citizen is the best assurance of democracy at work.”
The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. For more information about the Knoxville/Knox County League of Women Voters and this election, visit www.lwvknoxville.org or vote411.org or email league@lwvknoxville.org.

 

Early voting begins April 16.