{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Katherine Bike","chatgptsummary":"Katherine Bike's biography shows two years of service on the Knox County Schools Board and current work at the University of Tennessee, demonstrating familiarity with district policy debates like book removal. The record contains no documented controversies or disciplinary actions. Bio does not indicate experience in budget literacy for a billion-dollar operating budget or direct authority to hire and evaluate the superintendent.","notes":null,"party":"D","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nKatherine Bike is the Democratic incumbent for Knox County Board of Education District 4, representing West Knoxville, and is running for re-election in the August 6, 2026 general election against Republican Ashley Sartelle after being unopposed in the Democratic primary [1][2]. Her priorities are early-literacy funding for K-2 using evidence-based approaches, tracking and publicly reporting K-5 literacy data beyond the state's mandated third-grade retention numbers, equitable funding across urban, suburban and rural communities, and data-driven decisions rather than political pressure [1].\n\n## Background and education\nBike, 43, works at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and serves as a community health council member [1].\n\n## Office history\nBike was elected to the District 4 seat in 2022 [2]. On book policy she now believes \"the final decision should be with the board so that it can be an open and documented meeting,\" and prefers the term \"book removal\" over \"book bans\" to keep discussions productive [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Knox County Board of Education District 4 voter's guide (Knox News)](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/knox-county-board-education-district-073835341.html) - accessed 2026-07-23\n[2] [Knox County Board of Education member Katherine Bike to run for re-election (WBIR)](https://www.wbir.com/article/news/politics/knox-county-board-of-education-member-katherine-bike-run-for-re-election/51-378c9f8a-af3f-4b54-a463-62975eb80567) - accessed 2026-07-23","firstname":"Katherine","lastname":"Bike","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"sljD1Q6ZqL"},"token":"katherine_bike"},{"candidatename":"Ashley Sartelle","chatgptsummary":"Ashley Sartelle's background as a finance director with accounting degrees demonstrates budget literacy and policy judgment relevant to Knox County Schools' billion-dollar operations. Her role as a parent of a child with dyslexia informs constituent relations regarding reading proficiency and testing. Bio does not indicate experience in hiring or evaluating superintendents or completing state-required board training.","notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nAshley Sartelle is the Republican nominee for Knox County Board of Education District 4 in the August 6, 2026 general election, challenging Democratic incumbent Katherine Bike [1]. Her priorities are an ambitious district-wide third-grade reading-proficiency goal with public progress reporting, a \"science of reading\" phonics curriculum, data-driven facility and budget decisions, and fiscal transparency - \"Every dollar in our budget should have a purpose.\" [1] She notes that \"only 45% of Knox County students overall are proficiently reading at grade level.\" [1]\n\n## Background and education\nSartelle, 49, holds bachelor's and master's degrees in accounting [1].\n\n## Career\nShe is finance director at the Trinity Health Foundation of East Tennessee [1].\n\n## Family\nShe is the mother of a daughter with dyslexia, an experience she says changed her perspective on the value of standardized testing for measuring progress [1]. On library policy she believes final authority on book reviews should rest with board members who are \"on record agreeing or disagreeing.\" [1]\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Knox County Board of Education District 4 voter's guide (Knox News)](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/knox-county-board-education-district-073835341.html) - accessed 2026-07-23","firstname":"Ashley","lastname":"Sartelle","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"qCaipJ4RnC"},"token":"ashley_sartelle"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":"4","districtgroup":"county_school_board","districtgroupname":"County School Board","districtname":"District 4","job_type":"school_board","o.office":"county_school_board_district_4","office":"county_school_board_district_4","officedescription":"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.","officequalities":"- Policy judgment on a large urban district \u2014 Memphis-Shelby County Schools serves roughly 110,000 students across more than 200 schools, with a budget over a billion dollars.\n- Budget literacy for both operating and capital budgets, in coordination with the County Commission (which appropriates) and the Tennessee Department of Education.\n- Ability to hire, evaluate, and when necessary replace the superintendent \u2014 historically the highest-stakes recurring decision the board makes.\n- Constituent relations with parents, teachers, principals, and community members across an economically and racially diverse district.\n- Willingness to complete the state-required seven hours of annual training through the Tennessee School Boards Association School Board Academy.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"Knox County Schools Board District 4","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":{"retrieved_at":"2026-07-19","title":"knox County, TN \u2014 August 6, 2026 Sample Ballot","url":"https://www.knoxcounty.org/election/pdfs/General%20Sample%20Ballot_08.06.26.pdf"},"title":"Board Of Education District 4"}