The new Democrat majority on the Knox County Schools Board of Education voted to changeup board leadership on Tuesday.¶
Democrat Katherine Bike will serve as the new board chair, while Anne Templeton will be the new vice-chair.¶
Republicans had held both positions following the move to partisan school board elections in 2022.¶
Republicans Pass on Vice Chair Vote
Bike beat out Republican Travis Wright on a partisan 5-4 vote.¶
Templeton then nominated Wright to remain as vice chair, despite being nominated for the position herself. She told board members the move was in the spirit of bipartisanship.¶
“I think you’ve done a great job thus far and I think that this body can set an example of bipartisanship with leaders,” Templeton said.¶
Wright declined, leaving Templeton as the lone nominee for vice chair. All four Republicans passed on voting for her.¶
The Knoxville News Sentinel reported that Bike addressed the move and Wright’s decision to decline the nomination for vice chair following the meeting.¶
“I think Travis has done a good job over the last year, and it stinks – the partisanship of it," Bike said. "I don't know if that he didn't want to do it, or if it was something political."¶
Election Context
The development comes in the wake of a shakeup during August’s general election, in which the board’s makeup flipped to a 5-4 Democrat majority after Brandy Jenkins was elected to represent District 9 by defeating Republican Bill Sofield in a seat that is usually occupied by a Republican.¶
Bike was elected to a second term as District 4 representative during the general election, and Templeton is serving her first term on the board.¶
