Mary Burkett, Lexington Two
Name: Mary Burkett District: Lexington II
Contact Information:
Email: maryburkett34@hotmail.com
Phone number: 803-465-1509
Website: I currently have several professional websites, but have not started one for purposes of School Board as yet.
Social Media: I have a personal FB page and a professional page with a worldwide following entitled Beloved Children of the Holocaust. I intend to begin a FB page entitled Mary Burkett for Lex 2.
School Board Trustee Duties
1. Why are you running for School Board Trustee?
I was asked to run for many months by individuals and groups in the community. In response to these requests, I attended Board meetings and researched school district policies and performance, and I came to realize that the direction of the current board was not one that served our students or community well. If my life experience can be a positive contribution to outcomes for our students, I am willing to be of service to them, their parents, our school district employees, and our community at large.
2. What is the most important issue facing your school district today or a key problem you want to address?
Only 3 out of 10 students are proficient in reading and math as measured by testing by our state and district. This is entirely unacceptable.
3. If you could make only one change, what would you advocate?
Early reading program and continued emphasis on reading through high school so that the large majority of our students would read on or above grade level.
4. What knowledge and skills are currently lacking that you will bring to your School Board of Trustees?
I am a strong advocate for cooperation and collaboration, and I am staunchly in favor of respecting the dignity of every person. That being said, it has been my observation that there is ill will within the Board itself, between the public and the Board, and between the school district and the public. In my professional life I work with people of widely divergent backgrounds, ethnicities, religions, and political beliefs, and I successfully navigate a positive path with them. I hope to facilitate open communication and respect within the Board, with the school district, with parents, and the public at large.
5. What does the word “stakeholder” mean to you?
The word stakeholder to me identifies those that have a vested interest in a particular institution or process. In the case of our public schools, we are all stakeholders. Outcomes for students largely determine their adult opportunities, their earning power, their life satisfaction, and the growth and stability of our community and state.
6. How do you plan to communicate with constituents and how accessible will you be?
If elected, I plan to communicate via the Board website, but also via a Board-specific personal website and/or social media platform. I also believe the Board should be transparent in public meetings. I make myself accessible in all areas of my work.
7. Have you supported millage increases in the past and what are the circumstances where you would support them in the future?
This is a broad question. I have supported some millage increases and not others. I believe increases should be dependent on responsible use of available funds and transparency regarding the current year’s budget. The information currently provided to the public on the district website concerning the budget is simply a broad brush at an operating budget. There is little or no detail in any category.
8. What should be the top funding priorities?
Gifted and dedicated teachers are the backbone of education and should be paid accordingly. Our current levels of pay from $50,000 to above $70,000 seem reasonable to me, but I do not have access to any detailed information. That being said, the 2024 budget includes 81% for salaries and 3.1% for classrooms. Again, without detail, the classroom expenditures seem low, and one wonders if they contribute to poor outcomes.
9. It is didicult to get an IEP or 504 for Special Education. How would you address this and how would you support Special Education?
I myself had a child with special needs and fought the IEP fight with the school district for many years. In my personal experience, I was treated as the enemy, unreasonable in my requests for help for my child. I would need to gather information from the district as well as parents to assess the current situation. I believe both stad and parents could benefit from forums that explain the purposes and procedures of the special education tools and respectful discourse on personal experience for both sides. Open communication and shared purpose for what is best for the student should be the goals.
10. What are your thoughts on the budget proviso requiring use of restrooms and changing facilities based on birth sex?
I am 100% in favor. While students with varying gender identifications have rights, so do the majority of students. Female students should never be subjected to lack of privacy to accommodate a biologically male student. I support Budget Proviso 1.120
11. Would you make any changes to your district's policy on challenging instructional materials, and if so, what would those changes be?
I would want to see if the district implements the new regulations in regard to materials. There is a current edort underway to “pull” objectionable books and review them, however, the process has not been fully explained nor a deadline put in place. Our district currently does not have a process in place for the challenging of materials. The process was put under review last year with stated completion of the new process to be December 31, 2023. However, that edort was tabled. That being the case, parents are currently provided procedures in SBE 43-170, Section IV. What if any changes will be needed remains to be seen, but I would not hesitate to vote to change policies that obstruct parents’ rights.
12. Teachers often complain about the lack of discipline in the classroom, stating that many times students are sent to the principal’s odice and promptly returned to the classroom, where the student continues to disrupt the class. As a board member, how would you address student discipline through policy?
This is a very didicult issue. From my viewpoint, our schools have abandoned consequences for disruptive students. If a student does not see clear negative consequences to his/her actions, no change in behavior can be expected. We all know this as parents and grandparents. I believe we should have public forums to discuss this issue, to gather information from the public, teachers, stad, parents, and students. Subsequently we should put in place truly meaningful consequences. I believe it should be possible to actually expel students and for them to fail grades.
Experience
13. What has been your involvement at a school level and at a Board of Trustee or district level?
My husband and I have four generations of family members who have graduated from Lexington II. When my children were young, I served in a number of capacities in the PTA, with one year as PTA president. I, of course, did all the mom things in classroom, for sports teams, etc. I successfully fought the long fight to get school nurses into our district.
14. How many board meetings have you attended in person and over how long?
I believe I attended four meetings in the last year.
15. Have you spoken during citizens’ participation? If so, how often and what topics did you address?
I have not. My purposes this past year has been to observe, to gather information, and to speak privately with stakeholders.
Have you made SC FOIA records requests for information? If so, what information were you seeking?
I have not.
17. Have you served on any district boards or committees? If so, which ones?
I have not.
Get to Know You
18. Do you have kids currently enrolled in public schools? If so, which schools do they attend? If they have graduated, what schools did they attend?
I have no children currently enrolled. My husband and I graduated from Airport; his parents from BC; three of our children and three grandchildren from BC. Our earlier years were in Congaree Elementary, Pineview Elementary, Fulmer Middle, and Northside Middle.
19. What is your current occupation and are your hours flexible?
I am primarily a Holocaust artist and educator, as well as having collections on Slavery. I partner with the Anne Frank Center in traveling exhibits for museums, colleges, etc. I have a FB page with a wide reaching audience of multiple languages which I administer personally. My hours are flexible as my personal appearances are planned months in advance. I also work on special projects such as a current Ukraine project with Congressman Wilson which is in its inception. Again, all of this work is flexible as to time.
20. What other occupations have you held, if any?
Professionally, I am a retired pediatric nurse.
21. How much time do you plan to invest each week in board-related activities?
I can’t really say. I believe board-related activities will likely wax and wane as issues are addressed and hopefully progress is made. I am willing to invest whatever time is necessary.
22. Please list your community involvement – previous and current.
I have been a very involved person all my life – here’s a smattering:
Founding member of Family Connection of South Carolina Volunteer School Nurse Pineview Elementary School Board Member Children’s Hospital
American Red Cross Disaster Relief volunteer
Sunday School Teacher First Baptist Church
Coordinator Mothers of Preschoolers First Baptist Church Choir First Baptist Church
Adjunct Faculty University of South Carolina School of Nursing State Co-Chair of Ben Carson Presidential campaign
Politics
23. In an age where partisan politics have crept into K-12 classrooms and boards, how would you describe your position on partisan politics?
I do not advocate partisan politics in schools. I value freedom of speech and breadth of education, and therefore believe that older students should be encouraged to discuss factual issues and didering opinions. These should always be led, however, in a non-partisan way by an instructor having a clear understanding that his/her own political views are not to be directive. I am opposed to employees of the district openly or discreetly steering students toward their own opinions.
Other
24. Please include any other relevant information not mentioned above.
I would describe myself as a “possibility thinker”, perhaps even visionary. My work, which originates entirely from my house in Quail Hollow, has been exhibited in the United States and Europe and is seen by millions yearly on social media. I have been privileged to exhibit my work in Washington for members of Congress and to be recognized more than once in the Congressional record. My work has been used in Holocaust Remembrances in both Washington and Paris and has been recognized by the Israeli Ambassador to the US. I have received calls of appreciation from the White House and treasure personal communications with First Lady Melania Trump. I am a recipient of the 2024 Anne Frank Award.
While none of this directly impacts our school district, I believe to the core of my being in excellence. I believe that one young girl graduating from Airport High in 1970 had the potential for all of these accomplishments, and we have young people today in our schools who can do great things on the local, state, national, and international level. Someone has to speak for excellence as I never
hear it mentioned within the context of our schools. Someone has to have a vision and share it and nurture it. None of this is easy. Nothing ever is, but I believe we can turn our schools around. My slogan is less a slogan, and more a heart’s cry, “Why not excellence?”
