{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Cadence Collins","chatgptsummary":"Cadence Collins' biography shows experience as a former theater teacher and current stay-at-home mother, offering potential insight into K-5 education and family dynamics. The record does not indicate prior service on a school board, direct budget management for a large district, or specific experience in hiring and evaluating superintendents.","notes":null,"party":"D","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nCadence Collins is the Democratic nominee for Knox County Board of Education District 6 in the August 6, 2026 general election, having run unopposed in the primary and facing Republican Lee Ann Eaves [1][2]. Her priorities include keeping \"public funds in public schools\" and fully funding the system, addressing Tennessee's last-place teacher-retention ranking, reducing K-5 screen time in favor of books and imaginative play, ensuring every child can attend regardless of immigration status, and student mental health so students feel safe \"physically in our schools, but also mentally and emotionally.\" [1] She describes herself as a \"mediator\" who can \"build bridges\" across political divides [1].\n\n## Background and education\nCollins, 35, is a former theater teacher [1].\n\n## Career\nShe is currently a stay-at-home mother [1]. She changed her stance on classroom technology after reviewing research on screen-time effects, and supports students' freedom to read while acknowledging the need for age-appropriate materials [1].\n\n## Family\nCollins lives in a multigenerational household with her mother, father, husband and daughter, and says she comes from a majority-Republican family; her mother is a psychologist [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Knox County Board of Education District 6 voter's guide (Knox News)](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/knox-county-board-education-district-064440673.html) - accessed 2026-07-23\n[2] [Meet KC School Board candidates for Districts 6, 9 (Knox TN Today)](https://www.knoxtntoday.com/180063-2/) - accessed 2026-07-23","firstname":"Cadence","lastname":"Collins","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"E6B2855Ae9"},"token":"cadence_collins"},{"candidatename":"Lee Ann Eaves","chatgptsummary":"Lee Ann Eaves brings nearly forty years as a Reading Recovery teacher and elementary educator to the Knox County Schools Board role. Her background includes specific focus on K-3 reading fundamentals, safety, and facility maintenance. The biography contains no record of controversy or disciplinary action. Bio does not indicate experience in district budget management or superintendent evaluation.","notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nLee Ann Eaves is the Republican nominee for Knox County Board of Education District 6 in the August 6, 2026 general election, running against Democrat Cadence Collins for the Northwest Knox County seat being vacated by Betsy Henderson; Eaves won the GOP primary over Kevin Crateau [1][2]. Her priorities are returning K-3 to \"the fundamentals of reading\" with phonics, read-aloud and handwritten stories while reducing Chromebook and technology use, addressing safety, aging buildings and overcrowding based on student needs and enrollment data, and teacher support - \"Every student deserves a safe, clean and well maintained learning environment.\" [1] She advocates a book rating system similar to movies and video games and parent opt-out forms for library access [1].\n\n## Background and education\nEaves, 66, is a retired teacher [1].\n\n## Career\nShe spent nearly four decades as a Reading Recovery teacher and elementary classroom educator [1]. The Northwest Knox district she seeks includes fast-growing Hardin Valley and Karns and dips into the Norwood and Pleasant Ridge areas, and is described as solidly Republican [2].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Knox County Board of Education District 6 voter's guide (Knox News)](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/knox-county-board-education-district-064440673.html) - accessed 2026-07-23\n[2] [Meet KC School Board candidates for Districts 6, 9 (Knox TN Today)](https://www.knoxtntoday.com/180063-2/) - accessed 2026-07-23","firstname":"Lee","lastname":"Eaves","middlename":"Ann","suffix":null,"token":"7F1yRiBLIT"},"token":"lee_ann_eaves"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":"6","districtgroup":"county_school_board","districtgroupname":"County School Board","districtname":"District 6","job_type":"school_board","o.office":"county_school_board_district_6","office":"county_school_board_district_6","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 6","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 6"}