A lifelong Chattanoogan.
Committed to every child
in our community.

I'm Sandy Pricer — a mother of six, adoptive mom, foster care advocate, nonprofit leader, and charter school board president.

I've spent 20 years working alongside students, families, and educators in Hamilton County. Now I'm running for school board because experience matters - and our children deserve leadership that understands these challenges firsthand.

My story

Born here.

Raised here.

Still here — and all in.

I didn't come to this work through a textbook. I came through experience — as a foster care caseworker, as a parent who adopted three children through the system, as someone who has watched what happens when a child feels unseen and unsupported.

My husband Joe and I have six children who have attended public, charter, private, homeschool, and school choice programs across Hamilton County. I understand this system from the inside — not as a talking point, but as a mom who has navigated it in real time.

As founder and CEO of RiseUP Cooperative and President of the Ivy Academy Board of Directors, I've built programs that equip young people with life skills, leadership, and real opportunity. That work — alongside my years in foster care and community leadership — shapes everything I believe about what schools can and should be for kids.

20+

Years working with students, families & educators

6

Children — including 3 adopted through foster care

By the numbers

$674M

Hamilton County school budget I'm prepared to oversee

1

Community I've called home my entire life — this one

"Young people thrive when they feel supported, challenged, and connected —

and when the adults in their lives work together. That's not a slogan.

That's what I've spent 20 years proving."

— Sandy Pricer, Hamilton County School Board Candidate, District 3

Priority 04

Responsible fiscal stewardship

I've founded and led organizations. I've managed real budgets. I know what it means to make every dollar earn its place. Our district oversees $674 million in public money — and families deserve a board member who asks hard questions, reads the fine print, and ties every spending decision to what students actually gain.

Priority 02

Teacher pay & retention

Teachers are the single greatest school-based factor in student success — and right now we're losing them. Nationally, teachers earn 73 cents for every dollar made by similarly educated professionals. That gap is a student problem, not just an HR problem. I'll push for competitive pay, manageable workloads, and conditions that make Hamilton County a place great teachers choose to stay.

Priority 03

Student safety & well-being

Every child must feel safe — physically and emotionally — before they can learn. I'll demand data-driven safety plans with real accountability, stronger anti-bullying enforcement, and meaningful expansion of mental health counseling in every school. Not promises. Not paperwork. Actual results.

Priority 01

Workforce development & career readiness

Too many students graduate without ever setting foot in a real workplace. As founder of RiseUP Cooperative, I've spent years building exactly these bridges — connecting young people to life skills, career pathways, and real opportunity. I'll bring that experience directly to board policy, expanding work-based learning so every graduate has a clear path forward — whether that's college, trade school, military, or a career right here in Hamilton County.

Platform

What I'll fight

for on Day One:

Four priorities rooted in experience, backed by data, and built for the families of Hamilton County.

Real experience. Real results.

• Former foster care caseworker & Foster Care Review Board member — deep knowledge of vulnerable youth and the systems that support them.

Why Sandy

Most candidates tell you what they'll do.

I can show you what I've already done — for children, families, and this community — for more than two decades.

• Founder & CEO, RiseUP Cooperative — equipping teens and young adults with life and leadership skills in Hamilton County.

• Co-founder, Girls Leadership Summit — building a pipeline of confident, capable young women in our community.

• President, Ivy Academy Board of Directors — hands-on charter school governance experience, including budgeting and policy.

• Parent of six children — with experience across public, charter, private, homeschool, and school choice programs in Hamilton County.

• Based at the Family Justice Center — working daily with agencies supporting families and youth across our region.

Sandy's governing promise

"And through all of it — I'll keep you informed. You deserve honesty from your school board, not silence. Always."

Ready to stand with Sandy?

Donate, volunteer, or help spread the word across District 3.