Five MSCS school board seats are up for grabs in August. Here's who's running

John Klyce, Memphis Commercial Appeal
Updated ·1 min read

The makeup of the Memphis-Shelby County Board of Education could soon change, as 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.

Currently, the nine members of the board are Michelle McKissack, Althea Greene, Stephanie Love, Kevin Woods, Mauricio Calvo, Keith Williams, Frank Johnson, Amber Huett-Garcia, and Joyce Dorse Coleman. Greene, Love, Calvo and Johnson are all running to retain their seats. Woods is not seeking reelection.

Candidates are vying for the chance to represent districts two, three, four, five, and seven, and the winners will be sworn in this September and receive a four-year term on the board. Here’s a breakdown of who will be on the ballot in August.

More: Superintendent for Memphis schools addresses possible job changes, federal funding cliff

District 2

  • Ernest Gillespie III

  • Althea Greene (Current board chair and incumbent)

  • Natalie McKinney

Memphis-Shelby County Schools school board chair Althea Greene links arms with the rest of the school board as Greene speaks to the media about their teamwork in the superintendent selection process after the board selected Marie Feagins, the chief of leadership and high schools, executive director of high school transformation, and special assistant to the superintendent for the Detroit Public Schools Community District, as the new MSCS superintendent in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, February 9, 2024.

District 3

  • Jesse Jeff

  • Stephanie Love (Incumbent)

  • Ozell Pace Jr.

  • Angela Rogers

Memphis-Shelby County Schools board vice-chair Joyce Dorse Coleman and board member Stephanie Love hold hands and hold them up as they speak to the media about their cooperation in the superintendent search after the board selected Marie Feagins, the chief of leadership and high schools, executive director of high school transformation, and special assistant to the superintendent for the Detroit Public Schools Community District, as the new MSCS superintendent in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, February 9, 2024.

District 4

  • James Q. Bacchus

  • Alvin Crook

  • Eric Harris

  • Tamarques Porter

  • Anecia Washington

Memphis-Shelby County Schools school board member Mauricio Calvo speaks to the media after the board selected Marie Feagins, the chief of leadership and high schools, executive director of high school transformation, and special assistant to the superintendent for the Detroit Public Schools Community District, as the new MSCS superintendent in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, February 9, 2024.

District 5

  • Mauricio Calvo (Incumbent)

  • Audrey Elion

  • Porsha Goodman

  • Sable Otey

Memphis-Shelby County Schools board member Frank Johnson listens as Yolonda Brown, chief academic officer for Atlanta Public Schools, answers a question while being interviewed by the MSCS board for the superintendent position in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, February 2, 2024.
Memphis-Shelby County Schools board member Frank Johnson listens as Yolonda Brown, chief academic officer for Atlanta Public Schools, answers a question while being interviewed by the MSCS board for the superintendent position in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, February 2, 2024.

District 7

  • Chavez G. Donelson

  • Danielle Huggins

  • Frank William Johnson (Incumbent)

  • Towanna C. Murphy

  • Jason Sharif

The terms of the other four board members aren’t set to expire until 2026. McKissack represents District 1, Williams represents District 6, Huett-Garcia represents District 8, and Coleman represents District 9.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Here's who is running for Memphis-Shelby County Schools board in 2024