I A Conversation On The Porch

I taught your kids
for twenty-two years.
Now I want a vote
on what they get.

A 7th-grade civics teacher at Howard and Brainerd. A pastor at Mt. Olive Baptist on East 9th Street. Running for the District 4 seat because the people closest to the children should be closest to the money.

Chip in $22 for 22 years Meet Theodore
Election Day August 6, 2026 Porch hours Tuesdays, 6–8 PM District Hamilton County, TN · 4
Rev. Theodore Aldridge, a Black pastor and retired schoolteacher in a charcoal jacket over a cream open-collar shirt, photographed warmly.
Theodore Aldridge Mt. Olive Baptist · East 9th Street · April 2026
II The Receipts

Numbers I’ll defend in front of
the parents who pay them.

22
Years teaching civics
Source · HCS Personnel Records · 2026
14
Years pastoring
Source · TN SOS Faith-Org Filings · 2026
$0
Corporate PAC dollars
Source · TN Ethics Commission · Q1 2026
$1.4M
Federal meal money left on table
Source · USDA FNS Report · FY2024
III From The Porch

Why he’s on the ballot.

By Yolanda Beasley Retired librarian, 36 yrs HCDE March 2026

The first time I saw Theodore Aldridge teach was 2011, a Tuesday afternoon at Howard School, and he was making 7th graders argue about the 14th Amendment as if their grades depended on it (they did). The second time was at Mt. Olive Baptist, where he closed a Wednesday service by passing out the school board’s proposed budget and asking the congregation to circle the line item they would defend. Both times, he was teaching civics. Both times, people stayed late.

He is running for the District 4 seat because the district’s children have a teacher and a pastor on the ballot, and they have rarely needed one more.

IV Where I Stand

Three fights for District 4.

No carve-outs for charters. No vouchers that bleed our public schools. Just budget lines I can defend in front of the parents who pay them.

The Lunchroom

Universal free breakfast and lunch, no forms.

Seven Hamilton County elementary schools already qualify for the federal Community Eligibility Program. Three more in District 4 qualify and have not enrolled. Move every eligible school onto CEP within 90 days; find the $1.4M to cover the rest district-wide.

CEP · USDA 7 CFR 245 Read full position
The Classroom

Pay teachers like the work matters.

Starting pay in Hamilton County is $47,200. The Tennessee living-wage floor for a household of three is $63,900. That gap is why 11% of positions sat unfilled in August. A $55,000 starting floor; a ladder to $80,000 for board-certified teachers who stay.

HB 329 · TN State Budget Read full position
The Library

Books on shelves, librarians in libraries.

Hamilton County lost nine certified librarian positions to attrition since 2022 and refilled four. District 4 lost three, refilled one. Vote against every consent agenda that lets that drift continue. One certified librarian per K-8 building, hard floor.

Howard, Brainerd, Tyner, East Lake Read full position
See all six positions

A school board seat is not a stepping stone. It is the room where you decide whether the 7th grader in row three gets to eat breakfast.

Rev. Theodore Aldridge announcement · March 1, 2026 · East 9th Street
VI Neighbors Are Talking

The people who know him best.

Theo was teaching my mama in 1998 and he was teaching my son in 2019. The man does not move. We need that on the board.

Marcus Whitfield Parent, Brainerd · Class of 2003

When the county tried to close the East Lake library branch in 2017, Rev. Aldridge organized 400 people to show up in seven days. He knows how to count, and he knows how to call.

Yolanda Beasley Retired librarian · 36 years HCDE

A pastor who shows up at the school board meeting and reads the budget line by line. That is what accountability sounds like.

Pastor Calvin Ridley New Monumental Baptist · East Chattanooga
Read the full neighbor list
VII Mark Your Calendar

The board meets the
second Thursday.
I’ll be in the room
either way.

Election Day is August 6, 2026. Early voting opens July 17. The next school board meeting is Thursday, July 9 at 6 PM — the porch opens an hour earlier on East 9th Street.

Find Your Polling Place Knock doors with us
Aug 06 2026
Polls open 8 AM – 8 PM ET
Early voting Jul 17 – Aug 1
ID required Tennessee photo ID
Register by Jul 7, 2026
VIII In The Press

What people are writing.

  • Chattanooga Times Free Press A pastor and a teacher walks into a board race April 22, 2026
  • WUTC 88.1 How District 4 became the most-watched school board seat in Hamilton County April 8, 2026
  • Chattanooga Pulse “I taught your kids. I can read a budget.” Aldridge files for school board March 14, 2026
  • NOOGAtoday Five questions for Rev. Theodore Aldridge March 2, 2026
All coverage