← Back to Shelby County, Tennessee: Election on 2026-05-05
Contest for County School Board District 6
Shelby County School Board
6
primary - Partisan - County School Board Division 6
About this office
Members of the Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) Board of Education are elected from nine districts covering all of Shelby County. The board hires and evaluates the superintendent, adopts district policies, reviews and approves the school-district budget, and sets the district's goals. Board members are elected officials, not district employees; as of 2025 they are limited to two consecutive four-year terms. Regular business meetings are held on the last Tuesday of each month at the Frances E. Coe Administration Building, with a preceding work session.
Compensation: members receive a per-meeting stipend set by county government; state law requires a minimum of $4/day (T.C.A. Β§ 49-2-202).
Term length: 4 years.
This role calls for
- Policy judgment on a large urban district β Memphis-Shelby County Schools serves roughly 110,000 students across more than 200 schools, with a budget over a billion dollars.
- Budget literacy for both operating and capital budgets, in coordination with the County Commission (which appropriates) and the Tennessee Department of Education.
- Ability to hire, evaluate, and when necessary replace the superintendent β historically the highest-stakes recurring decision the board makes.
- Constituent relations with parents, teachers, principals, and community members across an economically and racially diverse district.
- Willingness to complete the state-required seven hours of annual training through the Tennessee School Boards Association School Board Academy.
Derived from the office's statutory duties and operational reality. Candidate summaries below map each candidate's documented experience to these requirements.
Campaigns
Democratic Primary
5 candidates
Marinda A-Williams
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Former teacher in Germantown and private schools provides direct classroom perspective on literacy instruction and curriculum alignment. Prior service on the Tennessee Democratic State Executive Committee demonstrates experience setting organizational policy goals at age twenty-three. Campaign platform emphasizes collaborative governance to delay state takeover, advocating for evidence-based early reading strategies and expanded career technical education to improve attendance. She supports strict financial transparency and contract oversight at the board level, addressing budget accountability concerns.
Stacey Kelly
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The candidateβs fifteen years in corporate banking operations and reconcilement provide direct evidence of budget literacy for operating funds. Experience as a financial coordinator teaching financial literacy to students suggests capacity for constituent relations with parents and educators. Current work as a college advisor for the Tennessee Higher Education Commission indicates ongoing engagement with educational policy and student outcomes. A Bachelor of Science in Administration and Management supports foundational knowledge for policy judgment within a large urban district context.
T. L. Harris
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Harris holds an LSU MBA candidate status and serves as managing partner of Whitehaven Family Healthcare, providing direct experience in organizational management and financial oversight relevant to budget literacy for the districtβs billion-dollar operating funds. As a Memphis-Shelby County Schools alumnus and long-time Whitehaven resident, he possesses deep local ties essential for constituent relations across the economically diverse district. His leadership of a youth violence prevention program demonstrates community engagement skills applicable to parent and teacher outreach.
Contessa Humphrey
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The candidate is a Democratic primary contender for District 6, challenging incumbent Keith Williams in the May 2026 election. She participated in a Greater Memphis Chamber video series but did not respond to Chalkbeatβs survey regarding her platform or background. Consequently, the biography provides no evidence of policy judgment on the districtβs scale, budget literacy, superintendent evaluation experience, or constituent relations history. Bio does not indicate prior public service, educational background, career experience, or completion of state-required training.
Juliette Eskridge
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The candidate taught in Memphis-Shelby County Schools for approximately twenty years, holding roles as a teacher and project manager at Hamilton Elementary and Mitchell High. This extensive tenure provides direct insight into district operations across multiple schools. Currently working with Project STAND, a school-based mentoring program for at-risk students within MSCS, the candidate engages with community support systems relevant to constituent relations. The biography confirms participation in the Democratic primary for District 6 but offers no details on budget literacy, superintendent evaluation experience, or prior public service roles.