Robert Taylor
The Metro Nashville Public Schools board's new lineup is officially decided after Thursday's election — though there aren’t many surprises. While districts 3, 5, 7 and 9 were all but locked in due to uncontested races, we now know who will replace Sharon Gentry after 16 years of representing District 1: Robert Taylor.
Taylor was the only school board nominee who faced a Republican challenger (Demytris Savage-Short). While the Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation making school board elections partisan in 2021, no Republicans have been elected to the MNPS board in the two races since.
In the northwest quadrant of the county, District 1 remains the only undecided school board race
Incumbents Freda Player (District 7) and Abigail Tylor (District 9), both of whom took office in 2020, will continue serving on the school board for another four years. District 5 representative TK Fayne will also continue serving on the school board after being temporarily appointed by the Metro Council in March following representative Christiane Buggs' resignation. (Buggs now serves as CEO of education nonprofit PENCIL.) Replacing Emily Masters in District 3 will be Zach Young, a former Metro councilmember who also served on the Goodlettsville City Commission. Young ran for reelection on the Metro Council last year but lost to Jennifer Frensley Webb. Masters, however, endorsed Young for her seat on the school board.
The board’s main responsibilities include shepherding the district's education budget, hiring and evaluating superintendents, creating policy for district schools and making decisions about charter schools, among other tasks.
