Dr. Mary Kay Murphy Announces Re-election Plans

District III Gwinnett County Board of Education member Mary Kay Murphy, Ph.D., announced Thursday (Feb. 16) that she will seek re-election in November 2012. Her reapportioned school board district includes Duluth, Norcross, Peachtree Corners, Berkeley Lake, Suwanee, North Gwinnett and Sugar Hill.

“I am running for another term to continue my work as a builder of Gwinnett County k-12 public schools and communities,” Dr. Murphy said. “I have a strong record of curriculum reform, fiscal responsibility, and student safety in our 133 local public schools.”

Murphy has been a member of the Gwinnett school board since January 1997. She served as school board chairman in 2000, 2004 and 2010.

“In 2010 when I was board chair, we received the Eli and Edythe Broad Prize for Best Urban Public School System in the U.S. and a $1 million prize of student scholarships. Other achievements include GCPS consistently receiving AAA bond ratings from Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s,” she said. Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s are credit ratings services.

“Also, GCPS leads Georgia and the nation in SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) scores. In 2011, the average SAT score for GCPS was 1,511 – 66 points above Georgia’s average and 11 points above the U.S average. We have achieved much – but there is more work to be done. I want to be part of that vital movement forward.”

A life-long educator, Dr. Murphy was a public school teacher for seven years in Georgia and California. She has worked at the Georgia Department of Education, the Southern Regional Education Board, Georgia Tech, the University of Georgia, Oglethorpe University, and for the past 10 years at Morehouse School of Medicine as associate vice president for institutional advancement.

She earned a master’s degree in English and education from Emory University in Atlanta and a doctorate in education administration from Georgia State University in Atlanta.

Dr. Murphy has a Duluth mailing address but actually lives in the new city of Peachtree Corners.

To learn more about Dr. Murphy and her campaign, go to www.marykaymurphy.com or www.marykaymurphy.org.

Berkeley Lake resident Jen Falk, a longtime children’s advocate, has announced she will challenge Dr. Murphy for the District III school board position.