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Cadence Collins announces bid for Knox County School Board District 6, pledges to oppose vouchers
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Summary
Cadence Collins, a candidate for the District 6 seat on the Knox County school board, announced her campaign and said she will oppose private school vouchers, prioritize teacher support and expand student mental-health access. She cited unresponsiveness from the current representative as a motivation to run.
Cadence Collins, a candidate for the District 6 seat on the Knox County school board, announced her campaign and pledged to keep public funds in public schools and to oppose expansion of private school vouchers.
Collins framed her candidacy around local ties and responsiveness, saying she was born and raised in Hardin Valley and attended Karnes Elementary, Karnes Middle and Karnes High. "My name is Cadence Collins, and I am running for district 6 school board in Knox County because you deserve someone who cares," she said.
She told listeners she first became involved after hearing about a private school voucher program and said she was immediately opposed. "When I heard how it would siphon our public taxpayer money away from our public schools and into private institutions, I was immediately against it," Collins said. She also said she contacted the District 6 representative with calls and emails but received no reply: "I never got a return call. I never received an email back."
Collins listed three top priorities for her campaign: keeping public funds in public schools, saying no to voucher expansion, and supporting teachers through proper budgeting so they "love going to work again." She also called for increased access to student mental-health care, fewer overly stressful assessments, and curriculum decisions made with input from classroom teachers rather than outside corporations.
On campaign values, Collins said she is running on "transparency, service, and connection," adding that residents deserve to know how decisions are made and where their money goes. She described her candidacy as a form of service — "I'm the daughter of two veterans and I understand what it means to serve our country" — and urged listening and compromise across political differences so schools can better support students.
Collins provided a campaign contact email, cadenceforschoolboard@gmail.com, and closed by reiterating her pledge to represent constituents regardless of political affiliation. The remarks in the transcript constituted a campaign announcement and policy outline; no formal action or vote was recorded in the provided transcript.
