{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Brandy Jenkins","chatgptsummary":"Jenkins's biography shows relevant experience as a senior manager of operations with professional experience managing multimillion-dollar budgets, addressing the office's demand for budget literacy. She is a mother of two daughters in South Knox County schools and a lifelong resident, indicating potential constituent relations skills. The biography documents no controversy or disciplinary record. Bio does not indicate experience in policy judgment on large urban districts or hiring and evaluating superintendents.","notes":null,"party":"D","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nBrandy Jenkins is the Democratic nominee for Knox County Board of Education District 9 in the August 6, 2026 general election, running against Republican Bill Sofield [1]. Her priorities are early-literacy intervention with flexible resources before students fall significantly behind, transparency in long-term facility plans and capital investments, data-driven decisions on capacity and enrollment trends, trusting librarians and educators on book selection rather than board micromanagement, and energy-efficiency and renewable-energy opportunities to reduce operating costs [1]. She opposes school vouchers as defunding public education and says, \"I want to remove politics from our classrooms\" and \"We need to do a better job of trusting our educators.\" [1]\n\n## Background and education\nJenkins, 39, is a lifelong Knox County resident [1][2].\n\n## Career\nShe is a senior manager of operations with professional experience managing multimillion-dollar budgets [1].\n\n## Family\nShe is a mother of two daughters in South Knox County schools and a longtime member of the South Knox community [1][2].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Knox County Board of Education District 9 voter's guide (Knox News)](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/knox-county-board-education-district-062843408.html) - accessed 2026-07-23\n[2] [Knox County Board of Education District 9 (Knox News campaign coverage)](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/knox-county-board-education-district-062843408.html) - accessed 2026-07-23","firstname":"Brandy","lastname":"Jenkins","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"z6zbfhZHqZ"},"token":"brandy_jenkins"},{"candidatename":"Bill Sofield","chatgptsummary":"Bill Sofield's biography shows thirty-one years as a Knox County resident and three decades of family ties through four children in local schools, alongside professional work as a computer applications analyst. He has no documented controversy or disciplinary record. Bio does not indicate experience in district budget management or superintendent evaluation.","notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nWilliam \"Bill\" Sofield is the Republican nominee for Knox County Board of Education District 9 in the August 6, 2026 general election, running against Democrat Brandy Jenkins to replace board chair Kristi Kristy; he won the GOP primary over Kristy, 2,026 votes to 1,961 [1][2]. His priorities are district-wide systematic phonics in early elementary, prioritizing physical books over digital devices for young readers, data-driven analysis of enrollment trends and building conditions, maximizing efficiency and accountability in the $700-million-plus operating budget, and clear, transparent library book-review rules [1]. \"Nothing replaces the experience of holding a real book,\" he says, adding, \"The research is clear that phonics-based approaches are the most effective way.\" [1]\n\n## Background and education\nSofield, 61, is a longtime Knox County resident of more than 31 years [1][2].\n\n## Career\nHe is a computer applications analyst with extensive classroom-volunteer experience [1].\n\n## Family\nSofield and his wife of 30 years have four sons who attended Knox County Schools - three graduates and one current student [1][2].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Knox County Board of Education District 9 voter's guide (Knox News)](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/knox-county-board-education-district-062843408.html) - accessed 2026-07-23\n[2] [Bill Sofield for Knox County Board of Education, District 9 (campaign site)](https://electbillsofield.com/) - accessed 2026-07-23","firstname":"Bill","lastname":"Sofield","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"rE4lTinaLs"},"token":"bill_sofield"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":"9","districtgroup":"county_school_board","districtgroupname":"County School Board","districtname":"District 9","job_type":"school_board","o.office":"county_school_board_district_9","office":"county_school_board_district_9","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 9","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 9"}