Ten candidates qualify to run for five Atlanta school board seats
Ten candidates have filed paperwork to run for five of the nine seats on the Atlanta school board.
The qualifying deadline was Friday afternoon.
Atlanta school board elections will now take place every two years instead of every four. All nine seats used to be on the ballot at once, but a 2020 law changed that. Candidates in odd-numbered districts in the 2020 race ran for two-year terms, which are coming to an end. Seats in even-numbered districts will be up for re-election in 2025.
Here’s a look at who is running for the five odd-numbered seats on Nov. 7.
District One
Incumbent: Katie Howard
Howard was elected in 2021 and represents the Jackson and Carver clusters of schools.
Challengers: None
District Three
Incumbent: Michelle Olympiadis
Olympiadis was elected to the school board in 2017. She represents the Midtown cluster of schools.
Challengers: Ken Zeff
Zeff leads the education nonprofit Learn4Life, which is aimed at helping districts improve student performance. He was Fulton County’s interim superintendent during the 2015-16 school year.
District Five
Incumbent: Erika Mitchell
Challenger: Raynard Johnson
District Seven (At-Large)
Incumbent: Tamara Jones
Jones was elected to the board in 2021.
Challengers: Alfred “Shivy” Brooks and William “Will” Sardin.
District Nine (At-Large)
Incumbent: Jessica Johnson
The board tapped Johnson in January 2023 to fill the seat of outgoing chair Jason Esteves, who was elected to the Georgia Senate. She will face voters for the first time in November.
Challengers: Nkoyo Effiong Lewis
Lewis, a former Fulton County Schools teacher, is an attorney who was a finalist for the seat currently held by Johnson.
Atlanta school board election coverage
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7 for the 10 candidates running for five Atlanta school board seats.
Here’s some of our coverage of the school board races:
Atlanta school board candidates tell us what needs improvement in district
Ten candidates qualify to run for five Atlanta school board seats
Atlanta voters: Check your voter registration, find your precinct on Georgia My Voter page
Metro Atlanta voter guides for DeKalb and Fulton counties from the AJC
Atlanta School Board voter guide from our partners at Atlanta Civic Circle
Atlanta school board candidates face off in first debate of 2023
DeKalb says it’s fixed ballot error in Atlanta school board race
Where Atlanta school board candidates stand on equity
Some challengers raise more money than incumbents in APS races
AJC in-depth / Literacy: Politicians enter fray on best way to teach Georgia kids to read
About the Author
Martha Dalton is a journalist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, writing about K-12 education. She was previously a senior education reporter at WABE, Atlanta's NPR affiliate. Before that, she was a general assignment reporter at CNN Radio. Martha has worked in media for more than 20 years. She taught elementary school in a previous life.
