Mary Harris (Region I)

About the Candidate

Tell us about you:(Such as your family, children, are they CASD graduates etc.) 

I have 9 children, 7 adults and 2 school aged. Most of my children graduated from WC school district and have gone to earn bachelor and master’s degrees. My youngest 2 are in Coatesville High School.

Tell us about what you do for a living:

I am a child care provider, primarily for grand kids and neighborhood kids. I am also an advocate for the community.

Public Service:

Coatesville Summer Food Programs

Campaign Website: None

Campaign Facebook Page: None 

"The school board works for students and faculty and they should remember that’s their responsibility. The interests of the student and faculty come first."

What motivated you to run for the school board?

I was motivated to run for school board after seeing the lack of support the children were receiving in Coatesville school district. After moving into the district I quickly realized the children needed someone to advocate for them and put their interests first.

What skills or experiences do you have that makes you different from the current board members or those running?

• Being an active parent of children in the school district
• Integrity: I will do what’s right for the students and faculty 

Do you primarily see yourself as a representative of the community or as a representative of the school system?

Community ✔      |       School System

Please Explain: As a representative of the community. The students and faculty are the community and their interest come first.

What type of opportunities/strengths do you feel CASD has and how do we accomplish them?

• 1st opportunity: Provide additional support for students with special needs. This can be accomplished by adding more support in the classroom and bringing back special needs classrooms.
• 2nd opportunity: Provide alternative paths for kids instead of focusing solely on college. For the kids that do want to go to college, make sure they are prepared.
• 3rd opportunity: Better parent and school relationship. Have more programs that promote school involvement.

What is the most pressing issues facing the CASD and how would you address them when you are on the school board?

The most pressing issue is special education. When I am on the board I would address this by doing more research on IEPs and pressing for more resources to allow us to follow these IEPs. Push for students getting the services that they need.

Please share your ideas on the challenge of balancing the budget, while not cutting too many programs or jobs?

Cutting any more jobs or programs is not an acceptable way to balance the budget. I would need to do more research on where the money is allocated.

The hiring and retaining of highly qualified teachers and administrators has become more and more challenging. How would you help CASD address this issue? 

New teachers should be better vetted before hiring is complete. We should be more selective of teachers and ensure they are here for the right reasons and are diverse. 

What are your thoughts on the current discipline problem and what will you do to address it?

Discipline is a big issue that I cannot tackle by myself. We as a whole need to research the best solutions for the kids and the faculty.

What are some of your ideas for improving school safety and significantly reducing bullying in our schools?

There should be a zero bullying policy that should be strictly followed throughout the schools.

If a parent comes to you with a particular school issue, how do you see your role as school board member to resolve that issue?

I would listen to the parent. Then get all my facts in order and present the issue to the school board (and other parties as needed) to resolve the issue at hand.

How transparent do you feel the district is now?

⭐✩✩✩✩

Looking forward, what are your views on transparency and what kinds of school-district information should be made public? (Excluding information that pertains to student records and the particulars of personnel records that would constitute an invasion of privacy.)

• The budget should be more transparent and easily accessible.
• Policy changes
• Removing of programs

Are you committed to a yearly survey of families, students, graduates, community residents, faculty and staff about what they see as major strengths and shortcomings of the district and its schools? 

Are you committed to yearly surveys?   ✔ 

Are you committed to publicly sharing the results? ✔ 

Why or why not?  The public has a right to see this information and know what is influencing our decisions.

Have a question for the candidate?  

 To ask your question, enter your comment (in this blog)  below in the “Post a Comment” section.  We will work diligently to get a response.