Ten candidates have filed paperwork to run for five seats on the Atlanta Board of Education this year.
Atlanta school board elections used to be held every four years with all nine seats up for election. A school board initiative to stagger terms to eliminate the possibility of an entirely new board being elected every four years was supported by the state legislature and became law in 2020.
All nine board seats were up for election in 2021, but the new law said winners of odd-numbered district would serve only two-year terms. Districts 1, 3, 5 and at-large seats 7 and 9 will be on the Nov. 7 ballot.
Click here for an interactive map to search addresses to determine what school board districts they are in.
Candidates who qualified:
District 1
Katie Howard, incumbent, elected in 2021. She has no challengers.
District 3
Michelle Olympiadis, incumbent, elected in 2017.
Ken Zeff, challenger, is former interim superintendent of Fulton County schools and founding executive director of nonprofit Learn4Life.
District 5
Erika Mitchell, incumbent, elected in 2017.
Raynard Johnson, challenger, an IT professional who has run for this seat before.
District 7 – At-Large
Tamara Jones, incumbent, elected in 2021.
Alfred “Shivy” Brooks, challenger, a high school economics, personal finance and government teacher for Clayton County Schools.
William “Will” Sardin is also challenging Jones.
District 9 At-Large
Jessica Johnson, who was appointed by the school board to the seat in January 2023. Johnson replaced Jason Esteves after he resigned because he was elected to the Georgia Senate.
Nkoyo Effiong Lewis, an attorney who was a finalist to replace Esteves.