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VOTE411 Voter Guide

2026 Sumner County School Board District 1

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  • Candidate picture

    Scotty Bush
    (Rep)

  • Candidate picture

    Jill Fernelius
    (Dem)

  • Candidate picture

    Jill Rathert
    (Rep)

Biographical Information

What is the most important issue to you in this race and what is your position?

How will you work with all the stakeholders in the county so we can move forward in the same direction?

How strongly do you support having publicly funded charter schools in Sumner County?

How strongly do you support pay increases for staff and other measures to retain high quality employees?

How strongly do you support teaching diversity and having materials available for a diverse population?

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Campaign Phone (615)852-7764
Campaign Website http://www.votefernelius.com
My most important issue is ensuring the School Board puts students first. After seven years of my kids attending public schools, I've watched our educators do extraordinary work within a system that ranks 47th in the nation in per-pupil funding (NEA 2025).

Before I vote yes on anything, I ask three questions: Will this improve opportunities for students? Will this strengthen their outcomes and experience? Will this protect the core resources our schools depend on? Those aren't abstract values. They guide me on real decisions facing our schools today.

There is no better investment in Sumner County's future than our children. I want to be a voice for the families and educators I've come to love in making sure that investment is protected.
Mutual understanding and shared knowledge are the foundation for building consensus. I firmly believe we have more in common than what divides us. Every parent, educator, commissioner, and community member I've met wants the same thing: students who thrive. My approach is to listen first, bring transparent and accurate information to the table, and build decisions on what the data shows rather than what divides us politically. An informed community is a united one.
Strongly oppose
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Neither support nor oppose
Support
Strongly support
Strongly oppose
Oppose
Neither support nor oppose
Support
Strongly support
Strongly oppose
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Support
Strongly support
Campaign Phone 615-476-8462
Campaign Website http://voterathert.com
One of the most important issues is safety for our students and teachers. We need to create a safe, secure environment where children can focus on learning. For me, this means continuing the work of our excellent SROs, implementing effective anti-bullying programs, improving access to mental health resources, and correcting infrastructure issues. One of my top priorities would be to work with Lt. Vines (head of SRO program) and Katie Brown (Director of Student Support) to explore other effective, cost-effective solutions like classroom lockdown systems which would allow staff to quickly secure their individual classrooms.
A school board member should collaborate with parents, teachers, students, administrators, county commission and community members. By working together, with respect and transparency, we can ensure decisions are thoughtfully made with students’ best interest in mind. As a mom of 4 children who graduated from SCS, I can relate to parents and students. As a school volunteer for many years, I have established a good rapport with teachers and administrators and value their opinion. Both of these experiences (parent perspective & school volunteer) give me a specific skill set that I will use to improve relations across the board and move Sumner County Schools forward in the right direction.
Strongly oppose
Oppose
Neither support nor oppose
Support
Strongly support
Strongly oppose
Oppose
Neither support nor oppose
Support
Strongly support
Strongly oppose
Oppose
Neither support nor oppose
Support
Strongly support