Tuesday, January 29, 2013
At a national conference this week, District III Rep. Mary Kay Murphy and other school district leaders are hoping to protect education programs from across-the-board federal budget cuts, known as sequestration.
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Tuesday, January 29
Two Gwinnett County Board of Education members are among those in Washington D.C. this week to help protect school programs from "across-the board" federal budget cuts. District III Rep. Mary Kay Murphy and Carole Boyce, school board chairwoman and District I representative, are present at the National School Boards Association’s (NSBA) 40th annual Federal Relations Network Conference. The three-day conference ends Jan. 29. Along with Boyce and Murphy, some 700 school board and state school boards association leaders are meeting with members of Congress on Tuesday. They are hoping to protect education programs from across-the-board budget cuts, known as sequestration, according to a press release from NSBA. According to the NSBA, the …
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
The Gwinnett County School Board District III incumbent now has almost $14,000 in cash contributions. She is being challenged by Jen Falk of Berkeley Lake.
Dr. Mary Kay Murphy, the Gwinnett County School Board District III member who is seeking re-election, has pulled in more campaign contributions. As of the September 30 reporting period, Murphy, a Peachtree Corners resident, has about $13,900 in cash contributions, according to state records. The latest reports show some major contributions to Murphy's campaign: $2,500 by GCAE Fund for Public Education of Snellville; and $1,000 by Ty and Stephanie Hanna of Duluth. Their business is listed as Galaxy Capital. Loretta Christoper, a Peachtree Corners City Council member, contributed $300 to Murphy. District III includes Norcross, North Gwinnett, Peachtree Ridge, Duluth high schools. Murphy, a Republican, is being challenged by Democrat Jen Falk…
Monday, October 15, 2012
The District III incumbent faces a challenge from Democrat Jen Falk in November.
Gwinnett school board member Dr. Mary Kay Murphy, whose district includes several Suwanee schools, has raised additional funds in her bid for re-election. In campaign finance filing through June with state officials, Murphy lists cash contributions from former Gwinnett BOC Chairman Wayne Hill ($250), and the re-election campaign of state Sen. Fran Millar ($250). -- Do you think Murphy will win re-election to the Gwinnett school board? Tell us how you plan to vote in the comments below. Murphy, a Peachtree Corners resident, represents District III on the Suwanee-based school board. The district includes North Gwinnett, Peachtree Ridge, Duluth and Norcross high schools. Murphy faces a re-election challenge in November from Democrat Jen Falk …
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Falk, a founding board member of Ivy Prep, lists $2,750 in itemized contributions.
Updated April 5, 11:32 a.m. The challenger for a Gwinnett County school board position has raised $2,750 in itemized contributions, according to disclosure records. Jen Falk, a Berkeley Lake resident, lists contributions from people in Duluth and the Atlanta area, as well as out of state residents. This is according to state disclosure records provided by Falk to Suwanee Patch. The disclosures have not been posted electronically by the state. Falk, a founding board member of Ivy Prep Academy, is seeking the District III seat currently held by Dr. Mary Kay Murphy. Itemized contributions to Murphy's campaign total $1,250, according to state records. “Raising money for a campaign is new to me," Falk said in a news release. "I’m not a career …
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
The District III rep faces a re-election challenge in 2012.
Updated April 5 Gwinnett school board member Dr. Mary Kay Murphy, whose district includes several Suwanee schools, has begun accepting campaign contributions for her re-election bid. Murphy's District III, like the other GCPS districts, was redrawn recently by the Georgia General Assembly after the 2010 Census. The district now includes North Gwinnett High and Peachtree Ridge High. She retains Duluth High and Norcross High in the new district. According to state records, Deborah Mason, wife of incoming Peachtree Corners Mayor Mike Mason, contributed $250 to Murphy in February. Jan Lupuloff, a Norcross High backer, contributed $1,000 in February. Lupuloff and her husband Aaron hosted a reception in March for new Norcross High principal Will…
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Education and community leaders advise replacing the one-size-fits-all NCLB program with a more flexible means to measure students progress.
Reforming schools and preparing the next generation of students for success in college and career is urgent. Education and community leaders report that No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation conflicts with achieving education reform. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is proposing to replace the NCLB system with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Flexibility approach in the following areas: Linked to academic programs that prepare students for success in college and careers, the waivers would provide flexibility for States to introduce local innovation aimed at increasing the quality of instruction and improving student achievement. According to information from the U.S. Department of Education, flexibility would mean a …
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Jen Falk announced she will run against incumbent Mary Kay Murphy in the November 2012 Gwinnett Board of Education election.
UPDATED: JAN. 16, 2012 (see italicized text for updated information) Berkeley Lake resident Jen Falk, a long-time advocate for children, announced Friday that she is seeking the Gwinnett County School Board District III seat currently held by Dr. Mary Kay Murphy. District III currently includes all or part of the Duluth, Norcross and Peachtree Ridge clusters as well as the GIVE Center West, Gwinnett Online Campus, Ivy Preparatory Academy Charter School, Monarch School, and New Life Academy of Excellence. After the census, District III (which currently includes 21 schools), will have six additional schools. The realigned district stretches eastward to include Meadowcreek High School and extend northwards to include N. Gwinnett High School. …
Sunday, January 8, 2012
No Child Left Behind will be one of the topics discussed at Federal Relations Network Conference next month.
Washington, D.C. will be the site of the February 2012 Federal Relations Network Conference drawing school board members from the 50 states to the nation’s capital. I will be among the elected school board members who will participate in our Georgia delegation. After attending a two-day conference where education issues will be highlighted, our assignments will be to meet with our elected House members and then as a group with our two elected U.S. Senators. The Federal Relations Network is part of the National School Boards Association’s annual advocacy meetings in the nation’s capital. My representation will be two-fold. First, I have been elected as representative to the Conferences from the Gwinnett County Board of Education. Also, …
Thursday, December 22, 2011
"What should Gwinnett County Public Schools look and be like in the next decade?”
As our nation and community prepare to enter 2012, the School Board and Superintendent are updating Gwinnett County Public Schools’ Strategic Priorities for 2010-2020. Also, we are seeking community input related to the Academic Knowledge and Skills Curriculum through meetings of the GEMS Oversight Committee. At the five GCPS Area Board meetings in March and April of 2012, we will report to community members feedback that we have received related to these two important initiatives. We invite this feedback to help the school system collaborate with those whose support is vital to sustaining a high performing school district that provides a quality and effective education for every student. Sustaining the excellent academic reputation that …
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Gwinnett County Public School leaders are projecting an increase of 11,600 students by 2015.
In the next five years, Gwinnett County Public schools will need to employ more than 100 principals and 500 assistant principals for its growing student population, projected to increase from 163,400 in 2011 to 175,000 in 2015. To help meet this need, Superintendent/CEO J. Alvin Wilbanks has created two pipeline programs—the Quality Plus Leader Academy to develop new principals and the Aspiring Leader Program to develop new assistant principals. Dr. Glenn Pethel, director of the Quality Plus Leader Academy, has provided leadership in the development of the curriculum, the timetable, and the funding for this important initiative. Recognizing the importance of principal development in public education, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation of…
Jack Kobaba
11:34 am on Tuesday, October 9, 2012
The GCPS System has too long been an "untouchable sacred cow" by the local media. The superintendent has never addressed the media or other critical issues in person, except for his latest stance against the Charter School Amendment, but he sends his publicist Sloan Roach to spin the issues. Many on the school board only rubber stamp everything the superintendent wants and they stay above the … more ›