
Head of Tuscaloosa Nonprofit Running for Second Term on School Board
The executive director of an important local nonprofit agency will seek a second term on the Tuscaloosa City Schools Board of Education, she confirmed on Monday.
Dr. Karen Thompson-Jackson is the Executive Director for Temporary Emergency Services and the incumbent board representative for District 1, which includes a large portion of West Tuscaloosa and four schools there - Central Elementary, Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary, Oakdale Elementary and Westlawn Middle School.
Though those schools have seen significant progress in state reportcard scores in the last few years, Jackson told the Thread she feels like her service to the school board and community is just getting underway. She said she spent two years trying to get through the worst COVID-19 pandemic and much of the rest of her term learning the ropes of a school system with a $150 million annual budget.

"Even though I volunteer in the community often, I didn't realize how challenging it would be to be a school board member," she said in a Monday interview with the Thread. "I didn't really understand all the opportunities and challenges in front of me, but having gotten from that point to where I am now, that's what's motivated me to seek re-election."
(Stephen Dethrage | Tuscaloosa Thread)
Jackson said her focus remains on getting proficiency scores higher at the four schools in District 1, which have historically been underserved and underperforming.
With the worst days of the pandemic behind us and all its federal funding exhausted, she said she's ready for four more years to keep up the positive momentum.
"Now it's about spending this term being solution-focused and driving our schools - all our schools, but especially those in the Western Cluster that I serve - to excellent grade averages," Jackson said. "And we've had to acknowledge our challenges, and sometimes it's hard to look in that mirror because we've got a lot of barriers, but then we can't allow them to take control of our opportunities. You have to have a cultural mind shift and understand that we may have some personal challenges inside the homes within our community, but that is not going to define us and we're going to take hold of it."
With one four-year term behind her, Dr. Karen Thompson-Jackson said she's better prepared than ever to serve a second one.
"Those first four years, I had to identify the strengths, the weaknesses, the opportunities and threats in the district and be able to articulate those when a parent calls me at 5 in the morning with a question about our policies," she said. "Now, I know where to look for those answers, I know how to respond and I'm confident in the direction in which we're going. If I'm allowed to serve again, my next four years will be spent pushing closer to the solutions."
Tuscaloosa's municipal elections will be held on March 4, 2025. Check out our coverage hub for those races here.
Almost all other Alabama municipalities including Northport will host their own elections later in the year, on August 26, 2025.
For updates on those races and more, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.
Top Stories from the Tuscaloosa Thread (1/20 - 1/27)
Gallery Credit: (Stephen Dethrage | Tuscaloosa Thread)
More From Tuscaloosa Thread








