Memorandum from Mary Kay Murphy
Mary Kay Murphy, Ph.D. District 3  School Board Member marykaymurphy@aol.com

July 5, 2006

Affiliated School Board Activities

   As the District III School Board member in Gwinnett County, I have been fortunate to participate in several initiatives related to representing our community—in Atlanta, in the State of Georgia, and in the nation. I would like to share highlights of these activities with The Weekly Online community.

   The Regional Education Committee of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce has asked me to participate as a member in its quarterly meetings. Janie Maddox of Post Properties and Joy Hawkins, Vice President for Education Programs at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, are Co-Chairs of the Regional Education Committee. 

   The topics of importance to the Committee relate to those that School Superintendents in the Metro Atlanta reported as being of educational importance to the entire region, as well as to the State of Georgia. 

   These topics include the following: 1) the high school drop out rate in Georgia and in the nation; 2) teacher recruitment and retention; 3) workforce development, include career, technical, and agricultural education; and 4) governance issues related to school board members and candidates.

   As the work of the Regional Education Committee progresses, I look forward to sharing information from these developments with our community.

   As the District 5 Board member to the Georgia School Boards Association representing the public schools in Gwinnett County, Fulton County, the City of Atlanta, and the City of Decatur, I have been appointed to serve on a one-year study committee spearheaded by the Georgia House of Representatives to review the State of Georgia’s system of public libraries. 

   The Honorable Chuck Sims, District 169 Representative to the Georgia House of Representatives, serves as Chair of the Committee. The Committee is composed of five members from the House of Representatives, and one representative each, elected or appointed, from the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia, the Georgia Municipal Association, and the Georgia School Boards Association. 

   HR 1287 established the House Study Committee to look at Georgia’s Public Libraries for the first time since the 1940s. During that time, the population of the State has nearly tripled and its demographic patterns have changed substantially. 

   The Study Committee was determined to be important because the statutes dealing with the State library administrative agency have not been amended in over twenty years, except for transferring its operation in 1996 from the Department of Education, to the Department of Technical and Adult Education, and to transferring its operation in 2000 to the University System Board of Regents, where it currently resides. There has been no recent formal study of public libraries in Georgia initiated by the General Assembly.

   Another reason for the Study Committee’s formation was the expressed need for increased accountability in the use of local, state, federal, and private funding of public libraries. Currently, over $30 million in State funds and over $165 million in local funds are expended annually to support public libraries in Georgia. 

   Dr. Lamar Veatch, State Librarian, representing the Georgia Public Library Service, and his staff are providing staff resources and assistance to the Committee. The Committee will sunset on December 31, 2006.

   The Georgia School Boards Association has reason to follow the deliberations of the Study Committee established by HR 1287. Funding for Public Libraries is provided by local school boards, as well as by local county and municipal governments. 

   An important area for the Study Committee relates to training of library staff and trustees in the age of digital libraries, virtual collections, intellectual property laws, and Internet privacy. I look forward to keeping our community informed about the developments of the House Study Committee on Public Libraries in Georgia.

   At the national level, the Gwinnett County Board of Education has been selected to participate in a two-year study program on school reform. Developed by the Center for Reform of School Systems and the Broad Institute, the Reform Governance in Action Induction Institute brings together school board members from four communities in the country for a one-week study program led by Dr. Donald McAdams, author of What School Boards Can Do: Reform Governance for Urban Schools.

   It is an honor to participate in this program. I look forward to working on behalf of the students, faculty, staff, parents, and community members of District III and of Gwinnett County to develop the most effective student achievement program possible. I look forward to sharing results of this experience with our community over the next two years.

070506

Archive