League of Women Voters election survey: Mary Darby, candidate for Dallas County Schools Board of Trustees, at-large position

by Staff of of League of Women Voters

The League of Women Voters of Dallas sent a questionnaire to every candidate running for public office in Dallas County. The election on May 9 features a race for the Dallas County Schools Board of Trustees, in which four candidates are running for two at-large seats.

The responses of Mary Darby appear below. Darby is running against Cassie Gandara, Homer Fincannon, and incumbent Larry Duncan.

LWV: Please describe your education and professional experience that qualifies you for a position on the Dallas County Schools (DCS) Board of Trustees?

Darby: After graduating from Stephen F. Austin, I taught in a prep school, and then taught "high risk" students in Garland and later in Dallas ISD at an inner city school. I now teach general high school subjects to youthful offenders in jail. I am involved in my church and community.

LWV: If elected, what improvements would you advocate to increase efficiency and reduce operational costs at DCS?

Darby: Fuel prices are high, so one area to increase efficiency and reduce costs would be alternative fuel sources. DCS should investigate technologies that improve gas mileage. These could be devices to help burn fuel better, or a shorter maintenance interval to reduce fuel costs. Another area which could reduce operational costs is to add more districts to DCS's service territory. By adding additional districts, expenses are shared between more districts and improve DCS's buying power.

LWV: DCS has a number of services (transportation, technology, psychology, and media) where it provides efficiency through sharing services. Should DCS consider offering other services under a shared agreement? If so, what services?

Darby: DCS should offer other services to school districts. Some of these might be helping smaller districts which don't have large sums of money to start new programs. Internet security services, technology consulting, and staff professional development are a few examples. Safety is very important to me, too. If one school district develops a way to keep their students safe, then let's pass that information on to other districts. The resources can be shared.

LWV: Many local teachers and librarians are not aware that DCS maintains an extensive media library of instructional materials and a large technology network that are available to local school districts at no charge. What would you do to promote increased awareness of these valuable resources?

Darby: DCS needs to develop a plan to stay in contact with each campus so that administrators and staff are frequently reminded of this valuable service. An in-service PowerPoint presentation should be developed and distributed showing how to download free instructional materials directly by teachers. I would like to see periodic emails sent to schools and educators listing new materials acquired. This is the area where I would like to put my skills to use.

LWV: The legislature mandated that seat belts be installed in all school buses subject to some funding from the state. To date, the state has not provided any funding. How can this safety measure be implemented?

Darby: I'm happy to see DCS has been proactive ordering seventy school buses equipped with lap-shoulder seat belts even before the law went into effect. I have been very proactive with a number of area state senators and representatives. I would use my access with our representatives to encourage them to provide funding. Student safety is a high priority of mine, so efforts should also be made to seek grants or other outside sources of funding.