Overview:
Alfred “Shivy” Brooks has beat incumbent Tamara Jones in the Dec.5 runoff for the Seat 7 at-large seat on the Atlanta Board of Education.
According to unofficial election results, Alfred “Shivy” Brooks has beat incumbent Tamara Jones in the Dec.5 runoff for the Seat 7 at-large seat on the Atlanta Board of Education. This comes after neither received over 50% of the vote in the November 7 general election.
Brooks, a high school economics teacher in Clayton County, is believed to be the first teacher elected on the board in Atlanta. He ran on a platform focused on conflict resolution and technology initiatives within Atlanta Public Schools. According to his campaign website, Brooks holds a degree in public policy from Georgia State University and is the founder of Teachers for Good Trouble.
The unofficial results from both Dekalb and Fulton County showed Brooks leading with over 70% of the vote by 10:30 p.m. All 14 precincts in Dekalb show Brooks receiving 1561 votes or 71.97% of the votes, while Jones received 608 votes- just 28.03% of the vote. In Fulton County, with 182/182 precincts reporting, Brooks had 7,441 votes for 63.24% of the votes with Jones 4,325 votes and just under 36.76% of the votes.
Jones was elected to the Atlanta Board of Education in 2021 and works in urban planning. According to her campaign website, she currently serves on committees while on the board including the SPLOST Oversight Committee, District Executive Committee, and the Excellent Schools Committee.
In 2020, the nine-member Atlanta Board decided to stagger terms to stop the possibility of a new board being elected every four years.
Atlanta Public Schools is one the state’s oldest school systems with over 50,000 students served, over 92 schools and programs, and an operating budget of $1.7 billion. Brooks will join Ken Zeff as the newest member of the nine-person board.
Race results aren’t official until approved by the Georgia Secretary of States Office.