Nashville votes on two contested school board seats: A closer look at the candidates

For the May 5 primary election in Davidson County, multiple candidates are vying for two contested seats on the Metro Nashville Public Schools board. The race has a mix of incumbents and newcomers — all Democrats — with varying issues of focus, including charter school oversight, combating learning loss and voucher expansion.

More: Nashville’s May 5 primary will be decisive without Republicans on the ballot

District 4 candidates

The candidate who wins the District 4 seat will represent students in the Hermitage, Donelson and Old Hickory communities. Berthena Nabaa-McKinney and Jennifer Bell are in the running.

Bertehna Nabaa-Mckinney is seeking re-election to represent District 4 on the Metro Nashville Public Schools board. Courtesy of Berthena Nabaa-Mckinney’s Facebook

Incumbent Nabaa-McKinney is the vice chair of the school board and chair of the budget and finance committee. A former principal and MNPS teacher, she now leads Nabaa Consulting, LLC, an educational consulting and management firm.

If re-elected, Nabaa-McKinney plans to address learning loss, work to close the achievement gap and seek to improve communication between families and the district.

She’s against charter school expansion — saying they’re operated in a way that allows the state to take control and accountability from local school districts. Charter schools are funded publicly but ran by private organizations.

Jennifer Bell is running for the District 4 seat on the Metro Nashville Public Schools board. Courtesy of Jennifer Bell’s Facebook

Jennifer Bell is a Nashville native who’s worked in several educational roles, including a teacher and athletics coach at Glencliff High School, principal at McGavock High School, director of MNPS extended learning programs and director of MNPS Academies of Nashville. She’s also a licensed real estate broker.

Like her opponent, Bell is against charter school expansion — citing concerns that they pull funding and resources from district schools. Her goal, she says, is to make MNPS schools the best option for students.

She also wants families to have more preschool options. Bell said the demand for these programs is higher than the supply and more work needs to be done to eliminate barriers like limited access.

District 6 candidates

Cheryl Mayes, Fran Bush and Mary Bernice Polk are running for the District 6 seat, which represents parts of Southeast Nashville, including Antioch.

Cheryl Mayes is seeking re-election to represent District 6 on the Metro Nashville Public Schools board. Courtesy of Cheryl Mayes’ Facebook

Mayes currently occupies the District 6 seat and is the founder of My Toolbox Consulting, a leadership development and training firm. She previously served as the district director for the U.S. House of Representatives in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.

If re-elected, Mayes vows to continue her practice of holding monthly community meetings where families in her district can meet with her to express their concerns.

Fran Bush is running for the District 6 seat on the Metro Nashville Public Schools board. Courtesy Fran Bush’s Facebook

Challenging her is Fran Bush — a Nashville native who served on the school board from 2018 to 2022 and currently runs a childcare facility. Mayes unseated her after Bush spoke out against school closures during COVID-19.

Bush wants the district to hire more teachers to mitigate the learning loss caused by the pandemic and focus on improving literacy rates.

Mary Polk is running for the District 6 seat on the Metro Nashville Public Schools board. Courtesy of Mary Polk’s Facebook

Also in the District 6 race is Mary Bernice Polk, a retired school bus driver and employee of the MNPS Transportation dispatch office. She’s a 16-year veteran in the payroll office of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center and currently serves as an associate minister at Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church.

Polk — along with all of the other candidates — is against voucher expansion. Lawmakers recently voted to increase the number of available vouchers for the 2026-2027 school year to 35,000 from 20,000.

Elections process

Two board members don’t face challengers: Rachel Anne Elrod in District 2 and Erin O’Hara Block in District 8.

Tuesday’s election is a partisan primary, so the winner must next go to the general election on Aug. 6 — but without any Republican candidates, the primary winner faces a near-automatic path to office.

Polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.