Ballot Project

← Back to Fayette County, Tennessee: Election on 2026-08-06

Contest for School Board District 2

general - Partisan - School Board Member

About this office

A school board member serves on the elected body that governs a public school district. The board sets district policy and budget priorities and hires and evaluates the superintendent, while leaving day-to-day management to the administration.

Term length: 4 years.

This role calls for

  • Policy judgment for a public school district — setting direction while leaving day-to-day management to the superintendent.
  • Budget literacy for operating and capital budgets, in coordination with the county commission (which appropriates) and the state.
  • Ability to hire, evaluate, and when necessary replace the superintendent — the board's highest-stakes recurring decision.
  • Constituent relations with parents, teachers, principals, and community members.
  • Willingness to complete the state-required annual training through the Tennessee School Boards Association.

Derived from the office's statutory duties and operational reality. Candidate summaries below map each candidate's documented experience to these requirements.

Campaigns

CHARLES B. WATKINS

CHARLES B. WATKINS

Democrat
👍 👎 🤡 😡 🤷
Charles B. Watkins demonstrates constituent relations experience through public advocacy on district desegregation and family ties to a former board member. His biography documents no controversy or disciplinary record. Bio does not indicate budget literacy or superintendent evaluation experience.
TERRY L. LEGGETT

TERRY L. LEGGETT

Republican
👍 👎 🤡 😡 🤷
Leggett's tenure as a Fayette County Commissioner demonstrates budget literacy and constituent relations skills relevant to district oversight and county coordination. The biography documents no controversies or disciplinary records. Bio does not indicate experience in school policy judgment or superintendent evaluation.
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