The Atlanta Board of Educated voted unanimously Jan. 7 to appoint Tolton Pace to fill the District 6 seat vacated by Eshé Collins after she was elected to the Atlanta City Council.
Pace, senior program officer for the Arthur M. Blank Foundation’s Atlanta’s Westside program, will serve on the school board through the end of 2025 to complete Collins’ four-year term.
The District 6 seat, covering south Atlanta, is one of several school board seats up for election in November. The school board makes interim appointments when a seat becomes vacant within one year of the next general election.
“I am truly humbled and excited to be in this great moment in our city’s history, in our school district’s history, and in my personal life,” said Pace, a native of southwest Atlanta, after being sworn in by Fulton Chief Magistrate Judge Cassandra Kirk.
The board selected three finalists with close ties to District 6 seat during a roughly three-week period over the holidays. In addition to Pace, the board interviewed Wayne Martin Jr. a former executive administrator to the Atlanta school board; and Nate Jester, an attorney with Alston & Bird and former Marine.
On Jan. 6, the three finalists participated in a community forum before the board announced its decision to appoint Pace.
“The journey of this appointment has been thorough and thoughtful,” said Erika Mitchell, chair of the school board, at the Jan. 7 meeting when the board voted to appoint Pace.
Mitchell said the board selected three “exceptional finalists from a pool of highly qualified candidates.” All finalists submitted a resume, a statement of interest, a completed commitment checklist and questionnaire. They also underwent a comprehensive background check, participated in the Jan. 6 community engagement forum and were interviewed by the eight board members.
“The Board is pleased to welcome Tolton as we work to expand initiatives that create meaningful opportunities for our students,” she said in a written statement.
“I also want to commend the entire Board for successfully completing this process within the 30-day timeframe required by the charter, even during the holiday season. It was essential to ensure that District 6 maintained consistent representation without a gap in leadership,” she said.
