Three members of the Arlington Community Schools Board of Education are pulling petitions to run for reelection, and one challenger has already stepped forward for one of the seats.

Sitting board members Scott Benjamin, Hugh Lamar, and Dr. Dale Viox will each seek another four-year term, while Victor Ghosheh plans to challenge Lamar.

Unlike the other Shelby County suburbs that will hold their municipal elections in November, Arlington is the only outlying town which holds its on Aug. 4 coinciding with the county general election and the federal primaries.

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The other two members of the school board − Kay Williams, the body’s chair, and Lyle Conley, the vice chair − are not on this year’s ballot. Their terms run until 2024.

Benjamin, a teaching pastor at the Refuge Church, plans to run again for Position 1, where he has served the past five years. 

“I love public education. I am a product of it,” Benjamin said. “My mother worked for the Superintendent of Education in Mississippi, so I was exposed to that side of it for most of my life. My wife and I have six children − all of whom either attend Arlington High School or have graduated from there.” 

He believes being a school board member is a way he can spend his time productively − providing ideas, shaping, and influencing curriculum, campuses and culture − not only for today but for years to come. 

Benjamin sees two major events shaping the future of how the ACS district plans and proceeds.

“The opening of Lakeland (Prep) High School obviously will have an effect on some of our student population − although we are committed to continue educating Lakeland students that choose to stay in our district,” Benjamin said. “And on the other side of that same coin, the announcement of the Ford assembly plant just a few miles down the road promises to bring explosive growth to our town and our schools. Planning for that influx of families and the school infrastructure to support it will demand critical thinking and planning from this incoming board.” 

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Lamar, who has more than 50 years of experience in education (with a focus in computer sciences), plans to run for another four-year term in Position 3.

“I want to see the results of our students succeeding, both in academics and in athletics,” Lamar said of his desire to serve for another term. “I also believe in setting good board policy.”

Lamar, elected to the board in September 2017, began his career in education in 1970, teaching computer programming and accounting at the State Technical Institute at Memphis. Today, he continues as an adjunct faculty member with Southwest Tennessee Community College.

He sees several important issues facing district over the next several years, and, like Benjamin, notes the opening of the Ford Motor Company plant.

“The construction of the Ford plant in Haywood County will present some challenges for the Arlington school district,” he said. “Also, coming out of COVID and returning to normal operations will present a challenge.”

Lamar, who completed 38 years of military service in the U.S. Air Force, is a former Arlington alderman. He was instrumental in the town’s efforts to land the West Tennessee Veterans Nursing Home, where construction should start soon.

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Current Arlington Planning Commission member Ghosheh will challenge for Lamar’s seat. He and his family moved to Arlington four years ago, and running for a position on the school board is something he considered the past two years.

“My biggest driving force is my kids being in the school district and just wanting to be involved,” said Ghosheh, who has also served previously on the Arlington Board of Zoning Appeals and the Lakeland Economic Development Commission.

He sees growth as a major issue facing the district in the coming years.

“With more families with young children choosing ACS schools, we need to continue to offer top-notch education,” said Ghosheh, who works with Triumph Auto Sales and previously owned All About Bikes, LLC and All About Pets, LLC (he sold both businesses). “We also need to continue to recruit the best teachers like we currently have.” 

He also wants to be a part of staying on top of curriculum and policies and working to further parent, student and community engagement.

Ghosheh stresses that he has no complaints with the current board members.

“My kids are going to be in the Arlington school district for the next nine years, and I’d like to be involved in that,” he said.

Viox, a pediatric anesthetist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, will run for another term in Position 5.

“I have immensely enjoyed my time on the school board and just enjoy serving the community,” Viox said. “I view my time on the school board as one of my greatest accomplishments.”

Having children in the district motivates Viox, keeping him focused and grounded. He believes the primary function of the school board is to collectively make decisions based on all of the available information to ensure a quality education for all students. 

“If you have children in the district, you are more focused on what is ultimately best for them and let other agendas fall away,” Viox said. “Secondly, and this is a very close second, I’m a product of public education. I know how powerful a solid public school education can be in the trajectory of every student. It’s something that will follow them for the rest of their life.”

He thinks that public education advocacy is the most important way a school board can protect and improve education in Tennessee. 

“Politicians make the best decisions they can based on the information they have, and it’s paramount for them to hear from school board members,” Viox said. “School board members have real data for them to use to enable public education legislation to be the best it can be. Every school board member should lobby on behalf of public education at all times.”

He sees the recovery of learning loss related to the pandemic as one of the district’s biggest challenges in the coming years. 

“Meeting students where they are to target the most efficient and effective way forward is always a challenge, and the pandemic exacerbated this,” Viox said.