WTCI will broadcast Hamilton County School Board debates on Thursday, July 12, at 8 p.m. Eyewitness News anchor Greg Glover will moderate the debate presented by the Chattanooga Downtown Lions Club and WTCI, the community PBS station serving the Tennessee Valley.
Candidates competing in Districts 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9 will debate in front of a live audience at the WTCI Studio at 7540 Bonnyshire Dr. and the broadcast will air on WTCI at 8 p.m. on Thursday, July 12. An encore broadcast will air on Sunday, July 15, at 1 p.m.
The community has focused its attention on the link between quality education and economic prosperity and WTCI officials said it is pleased to broadcast this event on-air with these candidates.
In District 3 incumbent Joe Smith will face challenger Miracle Hurley. Karitsa Mosely Jones, the District 5 incumbent and board’s vice chairwoman, will debate challenger Anne Pierre and in District 6 the incumbent, Joe Galloway, is not running to keep his seat and candidates Michael Henry and Jenny Hill are competing. District 8 incumbent David Testerman will face challenger Tucker McClendon and board chairman Steve Highlander will face contender D’Andre Anderson in the District 9 race.
“PBS is America’s largest classroom and at WTCI we take this responsibility to heart," said Paul Grove, WTCI president and CEO. "In 2016, WTCI televised Hamilton County School Board debates for the first time in our community’s history and we are honored to join the Chattanooga Downtown Lions Club in continuing this important conversation.
Questions will be collected from the public via email at debate@wtciTV.org, on WTCI social media platforms and from co-presenting organizations and partners. Special thanks to the corporate sponsors and underwriters; including the Chattanooga Lions Club for their support of this broadcast. Lions Club officials said, “The Chattanooga Lions Clubs and our contributing sponsors, in the spirit of promoting the principles of good government and good citizenship within the community, are pleased to help provide a forum for the open discussion of important matters of public interest, which we see as part of that goal.”