Dr. Marsha Farney On the Issues

Back to BASICS

Providing a rigorous education for the children of Texas is a serious challenge facing our state today.  As a member of the State Board of Education, I will work to strengthen and enhance our curriculum to ensure that we are offering the quality education that our children deserve.  Our students need to graduate with the necessary skill sets to either enter higher institutions of learning, technical training or competitively enter the workplace.  Providing a foundation of early proficiency in the core curriculum areas of reading, writing and mathematics is essential to student success.

I will also work to strengthen and preserve our state and national heritage as well as our traditional family values in our curriculum. 

An Open Door Policy

I plan to visit each of the more than 70 plus school districts during my four year term if I am elected.  I believe teachers and administrators, the ones who are responsible for the implementation of policy mandated by the State Board of Education, should not only be accountable to taxpayers and parents but also have access to those who make the policy decisions they must live by.

As the District 10 representative on the State Board of Education, I will always maintain an open door of communication with parents, taxpayers and educators in District 10 so I can know firsthand the successes and challenges that face our schools today.

Funding

We need to see more of our education dollars going into the classroom and fewer dollars towards programs that never leave central administration.  I will seek, support and recommend to the Legislature new ways to stream administrative costs and flow more dollars towards teaching our children and away from unnecessary overhead.

Ethics

Ethical standards must be raised for the State Board of Education, for local School Board Members and for those managing our education tax dollars.

I will be at the forefront of the effort to support full and total financial disclosure of the SBOE and school district business practices and work to implement the highest ethical standards possible.

More  -and Better Prepared-  Graduates

It is the goal of the public school system to have every student graduate equipped with the necessary skill sets to enter any institution of higher learning or competitively enter the workplace.   Yet, our schools cannot meet this challenge when a student leaves high school prior to graduation.  It is in the best interest of all stakeholders in the Texas public schools to reduce the dropout rate.  By increasing our high school graduation rate we will not only enhance the personal and financial well being of our students but of our state’s economy as well.  I will continue to seek innovative and research based methods to address this critical issue.