{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Michelle McKissack","chatgptsummary":"McKissack serves on the Shelby County School Board since 2018, providing direct policy judgment for the district. Her tenure includes serving as a founding board member of Crosstown High School, where she helped develop curriculum and hire leaders. She previously represented Shelby County on the Tennessee Board of Education Parent Advisory Council, engaging in state-level constituent relations. As PTA president at Downtown Elementary, she organized fundraisers supporting school operations.","notes":"","party":"D","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nMichelle Robinson McKissack of the Shelby County School Board of Education, and has served on the Board since 2018. McKissack is an Emmy Award-winning journalist with a passion for helping children and supporting public education. Michelle is the former editor of Memphis Parent magazine where she provided parents with guidance through articles and the tools to promote healthy families. But many local TV news viewers recall her as, \u201cMichelle Robinson, the news lady.\u201d She worked for years in Memphis as a news anchor and reporter at ABC 24, News Channel 3, and even began her broadcast career as an intern at Action News 5. Michelle has also worked as a reporter in Washington, D. C., and Chicago, covering events such as the historic 2008 Democratic National Convention nominating Barack Obama who became the first African American U.S. president.\n\nBorn and raised in Memphis, Michelle attended Campus School, then White Station Middle/High School, graduating in 1987. She received bachelor and master\u2019s degrees in journalism from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.\n\nMichelle married her college sweetheart, John P. McKissack, and they have four children. Her only daughter and youngest child, Bliss, is in the second grade at Downtown Elementary where all of her children attended their neighborhood school. Her sons, Peter and Everett are in 10th and 11th grades, respectively, at White Station High School. Her eldest son, John, attends Yale University after graduating from White Station.\n\nMichelle has enthusiastically served in roles as a room parent, PTA president, and serving on the leadership councils at her children\u2019s schools. She is especially proud of two programs she helped establish at Downtown Elementary, the annual Turkey Trot hosted at AutoZone Park and the Heart 4 Art fundraiser, which have both raised thousands of dollars for art programs and technology improvements at the school. Michelle has also worked to design the school of the 21st century with the XQ Project, and served as a founding board member of Crosstown High School, which opened in August 2018. Over a three-year period to create Crosstown, she helped to develop the curriculum and hire school leaders. Michelle has also served in education at the state level being appointed to several advisory councils including the inaugural Tennessee Board of Education Parent Advisory Council representing Shelby County Schools in 2016-2017. Michelle has been a constant voice for educators, students and their parents and will continue to do so in her role as a member of the Shelby County School Board.\n\n## Business interests and wealth source\n- **2026** \u2014 [School Board (SS-8005)](https://conflict.app.tn.gov/conflict/view_form_8005.htm?name=ROBINSON MCKISSACK&id=80168&f=194966&v=1) \u2014 filed as a Shelby County official/candidate\n- **2025** \u2014 [School Board (SS-8005)](https://conflict.app.tn.gov/conflict/view_form_8005.htm?name=ROBINSON MCKISSACK&id=80168&f=189135&v=1) \u2014 filed as a Shelby County official/candidate\n- **2024** \u2014 [School Board (SS-8005)](https://conflict.app.tn.gov/conflict/view_form_8005.htm?name=ROBINSON MCKISSACK&id=80168&f=177242&v=1) \u2014 filed as a Shelby County official/candidate\n\n*Source: [Tennessee Ethics Commission Statement of Interest Search](https://conflict.app.tn.gov/conflict/search.htm). Scraped 2026-04-25.*\n","firstname":"Michelle","lastname":"McKissack","middlename":"Robinson","suffix":null,"token":"hhjfaz0E17"},"token":"michelle_mckissack"},{"candidatename":"Hailey Marie Thomas","chatgptsummary":"Described as an early career educator and classroom teacher, the candidate focuses campaign efforts on addressing infrastructure issues like broken air conditioning and lack of janitorial services. This background suggests direct experience with school facility conditions relevant to constituent relations with parents and teachers. However, the biography provides no information regarding policy judgment for a large urban district, budget literacy for operating or capital funds, or experience in hiring and evaluating superintendents. The candidate holds no prior public office and has not listed specific educational degrees.","notes":"","party":"D","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n- None; running for County School Board District 1 as a Democrat in the May 5, 2026 primary. ([Chalkbeat](https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2026/04/14/voter-guide-memphis-shelby-county-schools-board-election-district-1/))\n\n- Candidate in the Democratic primary on May 5, 2026. ([Chalkbeat](https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2026/04/14/voter-guide-memphis-shelby-county-schools-board-election-district-1/))\n- Describes herself as an \"early career educator\" and a \"classroom teacher.\" ([Chalkbeat](https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2026/04/14/voter-guide-memphis-shelby-county-schools-board-election-district-1/))\n- Campaign focus includes addressing infrastructure issues like broken air conditioning and lack of janitorial services, arguing that board members prioritize \"egos\" over children. ([JustMyMemphis](https://www.justmymemphis.com/view-post/3720))\n\n## Background and education\n- No specific educational institutions or degrees are mentioned in the provided sources.\n\n## Office history\n- None listed.\n\n## Business interests and wealth source\n- **2026** \u2014 [School Board (SS-8005)](https://conflict.app.tn.gov/conflict/view_form_8005.htm?name=THOMAS&id=103909&f=201601&v=1) \u2014 filed as a Shelby County official/candidate\n\n*Source: [Tennessee Ethics Commission Statement of Interest Search](https://conflict.app.tn.gov/conflict/search.htm). Scraped 2026-04-25.*\n\n## Family\n- No family information is mentioned in the provided sources.\n\n\n\n---\n*Compiled from publicly available web sources on 2026-04-18.*\n","firstname":"Hailey","lastname":"Thomas","middlename":"Marie","suffix":null,"token":"O8RTQO27Mc"},"token":"hailey_marie_thomas"},{"candidatename":"Dolores Missy Rivers","chatgptsummary":"The candidate\u2019s twenty-six-year tenure as an MSCS educator and role as interim director of the Memphis-Shelby County Education Association provide direct insight into teacher relations and operational realities within the district. Her advocacy for increased pay and tuition support demonstrates a focus on recruitment, retention, and workforce development policies.","notes":"","party":"D","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n- Candidate for Shelby County Board of Education, District 1 in the Democratic primary on May 5, 2026. ([Chalkbeat](https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2026/04/14/voter-guide-memphis-shelby-county-schools-board-election-district-1/))\n\n- Advocate for increasing teacher pay and offering tuition support to help Memphis students become educators. ([Chalkbeat](https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2026/04/14/voter-guide-memphis-shelby-county-schools-board-election-district-1/))\n- Supports expanding MSCS's Innovation Zone approach, which targets low-performing schools with strong principals and practical teacher training. ([Chalkbeat](https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2026/04/14/voter-guide-memphis-shelby-county-schools-board-election-district-1/))\n- Prioritizes teacher recruitment and retention, arguing that fair pay and improved working conditions are essential to attracting strong candidates and retaining experienced educators. ([Chalkbeat](https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2026/04/14/voter-guide-memphis-shelby-county-schools-board-election-district-1/))\n\n---\n*Compiled from publicly available web sources on 2026-04-18.*\n\n## Career\n- Spent 26 years as an educator in Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS), starting as a teacher on a provisional license at Doubletree Elementary School. ([Chalkbeat](https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2026/04/14/voter-guide-memphis-shelby-county-schools-board-election-district-1/))\n- Spent most of her teaching career at Ross Elementary before retiring in 2023. ([Chalkbeat](https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2026/04/14/voter-guide-memphis-shelby-county-schools-board-election-district-1/))\n\n## Office history\n- Interim director of the Memphis-Shelby County Education Association, serving a one-year term that ended in February 2026. ([Chalkbeat](https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2026/04/14/voter-guide-memphis-shelby-county-schools-board-election-district-1/))\n\n## Business interests and wealth source\nNo statement of interest filing found as of 2026-04-25. Search the [Tennessee Ethics Commission Statement of Interest Search](https://conflict.app.tn.gov/conflict/search.htm).\n","firstname":"Dolores","lastname":"Rivers","middlename":"Missy","suffix":null,"token":"jin7W7bIut"},"token":"dolores_missy_rivers"}],"choices":null,"description":"","district":"1","districtgroup":"county_school_board","districtgroupname":"Shelby County School Board","districtname":"District 1","job_type":"school_board","o.office":"county_school_board_division_1","office":"county_school_board_division_1","officedescription":"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.\n\n**Compensation:** members receive a per-meeting stipend set by county government; state law requires a minimum of $4/day ([T.C.A. \u00a7 49-2-202](https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-49/chapter-2/part-2/section-49-2-202/)).","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":"County School Board Division 1","partisan":0,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":"","source":null,"title":"County School Board District 1"}