These Q&As with Muscogee school board candidates can help you decide who to vote for
The Ledger-Enquirer published Q&As with candidates competing in the three contested races for seats on the nine-member Muscogee County School District Board during the 2026 election. Early voting begins April 27, and election day is May 19.
Here are key takeaways from those interviews:
• Mark Cantrell, the 16-year District 6 incumbent, is seeking reelection on a record that includes MCSD’s all-time-high graduation rates, SAT results and Advanced Placement scores. He said early literacy and chronic absenteeism are his top priorities. Cantrell is a Jordan Vocational High School graduate, worked for 30 years in radio and television and co-owns Action Buildings Inc. Click on this link to read the full Q&A.
• Bob Roth, challenging Cantrell for the District 6 seat, is a retired U.S. Army officer who says the district needs higher standards for students, teachers, parents and staff. He contends high graduation rates mask poor student performance, asserting students can fail to meet grade-level standards but still graduate. Roth has two graduate degrees and is pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership. Click on this link to read the full Q&A.
• Margot Schley, the one-term District 8 incumbent, is running on a platform of supporting teachers, maintaining safe schools and strengthening programs that prepare students. Her professional background is in banking and community development. She has volunteered for various Columbus community organizations for 26 years and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science. Click on this link to read the full Q&A.
• Joshua Smith, challenging Schley for the District 8 seat, is a youth sports coach and team leader at Kia Motors in West Point. He wants clearer communication between the board and parents, plus programs focused on the “whole student.” Smith said he is “not a politician” but “a mentor who shows up every day.” Click on this link to read the full Q&A.
• Sadiyah Abdullah, challenging for the countywide at-large seat, is a former teacher, principal and MCSD administrator who says she led Lonnie Jackson Elementary School off the governor’s list of chronically failing schools in one year. She wants evidence-based reading instruction, early intervention systems and transparent school-by-school performance dashboards. Abdullah earned multiple education degrees and is pursuing a doctorate in reading at Auburn University. Click on this link to read the full Q&A.
• Kia Chambers, the 12-year ncumbent in the countywide at-large seat, is running on her record of helping to expand Career, Technical and Agricultural Education pathways and supporting early literacy initiatives. She chairs the board’s finance committee and says she will advocate for competitive teacher salaries alongside fiscal responsibility. Chambers earned a doctorate in education from Auburn University and is a licensed real estate broker and business owner. Click on this link to read the full Q&A.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. All the Ledger-Enquirer articles linked in this recap were reported, written and edited by journalists.
