Memphis educators question candidates for local offices
Shelby County educators interview candidates for key local offices, focusing on school funding, safety, and collaboration as they decide who to endorse.
MEMPHIS, Tenn — Educators in Shelby County this week are interviewing candidates for several local offices as they decide whose campaigns to endorse ahead of upcoming elections.
Members of the Memphis-Shelby County Education Association (M-SCEA) began meeting on Monday, March 16, with candidates who are running for county mayor, county commission, and the Memphis-Shelby County Schools board.
Association members said they are looking for more than campaign promises from those seeking leadership roles.
“We’re interviewing them to look at several priorities,” said Rosemary Winters, a teacher and member of the group’s PACE Council. “They are funding for education, initiative for parental involvement, safety of our schools and the school climate.”
M-SCEA — an association comprised of current and former teachers and education administrators — said it is focused on key issues such as county funding for schools, collaboration with educators, and a commitment to student support when determining which candidates to back.
“It’s amazing that they’re actually informed and coming here with the information and the funding sources and the ideals and the grants,” M-SCEA President Charlotte Fields said. “And bringing back mental health into the schools and getting people who are actually able and qualified to help.”
The group has interviewed at least 13 candidates so far. While endorsements have not yet been announced, members said teachers want their voices included when elected leaders make decisions affecting classrooms.
“We just need to continue our teacher voices,” Winters said. “Let our voices be heard. Don’t shut us down, because we come with a plethora of experience. We’re the ones [with] boots on the ground working with the students, working with the parents, working with the community. Just give us the respect.”
The association plans to continue interviews Tuesday, March 17, and Wednesday, March 18, with 28 additional candidates scheduled to participate. Final endorsement decisions are expected shortly after the interviews conclude.