Jennifer Owen
Jennifer Owen was a member of the Knox County Board of Education in Tennessee, representing District 2. She assumed office in 2016. She left office on September 1, 2024.
Owen (independent) ran for re-election to the Knox County Board of Education to represent District 2 in Tennessee. She lost in the general election on August 1, 2024.
Biography
Owen worked as an educator for 23 years, 18 of which were served at Knox County Schools. Before she resigned in 2014, she worked as an elementary building level technology coach. When Owen left Knox County Schools, she published her resignation letter on her blog. She said, "I am leaving for my integrity.” She listed a number of reasons for leaving, including the lack of a “highly qualified and unbiased evaluator," and the lack of an employee's right “to request a representative in ANY meeting, where they feel it is needed, regardless of the meeting’s official intent.” She also said that after she interviewed for a different job in the district, "it was clear to me, that this job is no longer about children.”[1][2][3]
Since she resigned from her position as an educator, Owen has worked to advocate for students and public education at the district and state level.[2]
Elections
2024
See also: Knox County School District, Tennessee, elections (2024)
General election
General election for Knox County Schools school board, District 2
Anne Templeton defeated incumbent Jennifer Owen and Pat Polis in the general election for Knox County Schools school board, District 2 on August 1, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Anne Templeton (D) | 50.4 | 3,181 | |
 | Jennifer Owen (Independent) | 29.5 | 1,861 | |
| Pat Polis (Independent) | 19.7 | 1,241 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5 | 29 | ||
| Total votes: 6,312 | |||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Knox County Schools school board, District 2
Anne Templeton advanced from the Democratic primary for Knox County Schools school board, District 2 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Anne Templeton | 98.4 | 1,870 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.6 | 30 | ||
| Total votes: 1,900 | |||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Owen in this election.
2020
See also: Knox County School District, Tennessee, elections (2020)
General election
General election for Knox County Schools school board, District 2
Incumbent Jennifer Owen won election in the general election for Knox County Schools school board, District 2 on August 6, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer Owen (Nonpartisan) | 97.7 | 6,937 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 2.3 | 162 | ||
| Total votes: 7,099 | |||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Knox County Schools school board, District 2
Incumbent Jennifer Owen defeated John Meade in the primary for Knox County Schools school board, District 2 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer Owen (Nonpartisan) | 57.6 | 5,028 |
| John Meade (Nonpartisan) | 42.4 | 3,700 | ||
| Total votes: 8,728 | |||
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2016
- See also: Knox County Schools elections (2016)
Four of the nine seats on the Knox County Schools Board of Education were up for by-district general election on August 4, 2016. A primary election was held March 1, 2016. Jennifer Owen defeated Grant Standefer for the District 2 seat in the primary election. She went on to win the general election unopposed. The District 5 primary featured Reuben "Buddy" Pelot, Lori Ann Boudreaux, and Susan Horn. Both Horn and Pelot received enough votes to advance to the general election, where Horn defeated Pelot for the seat. The District 3 seat was left open for a newcomer. Tony Norman won that seat after running unopposed in both the primary and general elections. Michael McMillan, the only incumbent who sought re-election, ran unopposed in District 8 and won another term.[4][5][6][7]
Results
| Knox County Schools, District 2 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Jennifer Owen (unopposed) |
100.00% | 2,240 |
| Total Votes | 2,240 | |
| Source: Knox County Election Commission, "Cumulative Report — Official," accessed November 28, 2016 | ||
| Knox County Schools, District 2 Primary Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Jennifer Owen |
65.82% | 5,028 |
| Grant Standefer | 34.18% | 2,611 |
| Total Votes | 7,639 | |
| Source: Knox County Board of Elections, "Presidential Preference Primary and County Primary — Official Ballot for Knox County March 01, 2016," accessed March 28, 2016 | ||
Funding
Owen reported $5,279.32 in contributions and $5,279.32 in expenditures to the Knox County Clerk, which left her campaign with a $0.00 balance in the election.[8]
Endorsements
Owen was endorsed by the group Students Parents Educators Across Knox County (SPEAK) and the Knox County Political Action Committee for Education (PACE).[9][10]
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jennifer Owen did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Jennifer Owen did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2016
Candidate website
Owen highlighted the following letter on her campaign website:
| “ | Dear Neighbor,
In 2016, my excitement for the new year includes the potential for positive change for our communities and students in Knox County Schools. I hope you will join me in driving that change by electing me to represent the Second District on the Board of Education. It is important that the Board focus on making decisions in the best interests of our students. We must work to attract and retain great educators and give them the autonomy to make instructional decisions in their classrooms. At the same time, the Board must repair relationships with our community. Put the focus where it belongs: on students. Let our teachers teach. Repair community relationships by being representative, accountable, and transparent. I hope you will help me begin to rebuild community confidence by electing me to be your 2nd District Board of Education representative on March 1st. As your representative, I will work to ensure students come first and that the interests of our students and communities guide every decision. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and concerns, regarding Knox County Schools. Please don’t hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Jennifer Owen[11] |
” |
| —Jennifer Owen (2016)[12] | ||
Knoxville News Sentinel
Campaign video
The following video shows Owen outlining her campaign for the Knoxville News Sentinel.
Q & A
The Knoxville News Sentinel published the following questionnaire. The bolded questions were provided by the League of Women Voters. Owen's responses to those questions appear below.
Is the current funding for Knox County Schools adequate? If not, how would you work to correct the problem?
| “ | Current funding is not adequate for Knox County Schools or any other public schools in Tennessee. The Legislature, which is responsible for funding state schools, has to understand their responsibility as well as the needs of our students. It is important for our local Board members to be able to explain our needs to our legislators and to hold them accountable for fully funding the programs and policies they mandate. For years, I have been following bills that impact our schools and looking at the fiscal note on each. When the fiscal note has been significant, I have worked to contact representatives and discuss funding with them. I believe our Board will need to really pay attention to bills as they pass through the Legislature and ensure our voices are heard when programs are mandated without adequate funding.[11] | ” |
| —Jennifer Owen (2016)[13] | ||
If you are elected, you would be involved in choosing a new school superintendent. What are the most important characteristics you would look for in a candidate for the position, and what should, at a minimum, be a candidate's qualifications?
| “ | I believe a successful academic leader must have appropriate experiences and qualifications that exceed those of the people he/she manages. As the instructional leader for the community, he/she must be fully qualified to lead at all levels.
|
” |
| —Jennifer Owen (2016)[13] | ||
The state is once again considering vouchers for low-income students. What is your position on vouchers?
| “ | As a citizen, when I see my representatives supporting and voting for vouchers, I see them abandoning public schools and their students. Public schools are already seriously underfunded by the state. Vouchers will strain local and county budgets as school districts try to make up the difference after millions are drained away from them. Regardless of claims that school costs will decrease costs for districts, this simply makes no sense. Removing 5 percent of the students from a building does nothing to reduce heating and air costs, building maintenance costs, and costs of staffing. Taking millions of dollars from public schools is not in the best interests of students. The only ones with real "choice" in these programs is the private businesses receiving the funds. Other states have had voucher programs for over ten years - and they have proven, again and again, that students remaining in their PUBLIC schools overwhelmingly perform better than those in the voucher programs[11] | ” |
| —Jennifer Owen (2016)[13] | ||
At present, Knox County has only one charter school. What is your position about increasing that number?
| “ | Knoxville's one charter school has not yet been in business long enough to evaluate its progress. It would be financially irresponsible to consider adding additional charter schools without a clear picture of how it may impact students.[11] | ” |
| —Jennifer Owen (2016)[13] | ||
Who should set the educational policy and direction for Knox County, the board of education or the school administration?
| “ | This is already laid out in Tennessee state law: School boards should be responsible for setting policy and the board-appointed Director of Schools should be in charge of the day-to-day administration of the schools, as laid out in TCA 49-2-301. In other words, the school board should govern the school system; the superintendent should administer it.[11] | ” |
| —Jennifer Owen (2016)[13] | ||
The board of education will make decisions about building new or renovating existing schools. With population growth and our school capital funding limited by current obligations, what steps would you take to assure that tax dollars are spent wisely for school construction in the future?
| “ | The decision to build a new school or renovate an existing one is a complicated matter that will be different with each project. It is important to carefully consider population trends, student access, and community needs, as well as whether renovating a current building may be more costly in the long run. Sadly, we have some buildings that have been poorly constructed and have been very costly to maintain. In some cases, it could be more cost effective to rebuild than to keep pouring funds into a building that isn't well-constructed to begin with. On the other hand, we have some buildings that are very solid and have been well cared for. In those cases, renovation could be a better option. To ensure that tax dollars are spent wisely in the future, I would ask for comprehensive assessments and comparisons of all plans and carefully consider their impact.[11] | ” |
| —Jennifer Owen (2016)[13] | ||
See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Knox County Schools school board, District 2 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Owen 4 Schools, "Welcome," accessed February 11, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Knox Focus, "Jennifer Owen: Committed to Students," February 1, 2016
- ↑ Knoxville News Sentinel, "Former Knox teacher blasts McIntyre in resignation post on blog," August 19, 2014
- ↑ Knox County Election Commission, "Live Election Results," accessed August 4, 2016
- ↑ Knox County Board of Elections, "Final County Prim. 3-1-16 and County Gen. 8-4-16 Candidate List," accessed January 19, 2016
- ↑ Knox County Schools, "Board Members," accessed January 19, 2016
- ↑ Knox County Board of Elections, "Live Election Results," accessed March 1, 2016
- ↑ Knox County Clerk, "Financial Disclosures: Candidate Information," accessed November 29, 2016
- ↑ Owen 4 Schools, "SPEAK Endorsement," accessed February 23, 2016
- ↑ The Pacemaker, "Recommendations for Elections," accessed February 23, 2016
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Owen 4 Schools, "Letter To My Neighbors," accessed February 11, 2016
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 Knoxville News Sentinel, "Board of Education candidates Q & A by League of Women Voter," February 7, 2016
