South San Francisco, CA August 29, 2016
Patricia Murray has filed for the 4 year seat after serving on local PTAs for the past 2 decades
Photo: ESC File
NOTE: Patricia Murray is one of the 2 candidates in this uncontested for the 4 year position on the SSFUSD School Board (Daina Lujan is the other). Everything South City has reached out to all the candidates allowing them this space to share their vision and ideas for their time on our school board. Below we are re-publishing a portion of information we had on file from Patricia’s 2014 campaign. Patricia may be reached at pat@Murray.com
I love this community and district. I’ve volunteered in the district for almost 20 years and with my youngest off to college, I feel that I have more to offer! I can and will give this my full attention. There are many things that need to be addressed and implemented over in the next couple of years: the completion of the Measure J projects and the implementation Common Core and LCFF. There will be a learning curve for all of the Board Members but I would work my hardest to make sure that the implementation does not weaken the education of our kids. And I believe that my experience volunteering within the district will help me do just that.
A few of the issues I feel passionate about are mentioned above. But, additionally, I believe that safety is a priority because students cannot learn if they don’t feel safe. I’m not only talking about the facilities. When on the ad-hoc Safety Committee, I made several suggestions for keeping our campus’ safe. One was as simple as having everyone on campus wear a name tag so that we know who should be there and who shouldn’t. Bullying, both in person and in the cyberspace is another major concern of mine. We need to research and implement programs to teach our students how to deal with bullying but, also, how to feel enough self-worth that they don’t feel the need to be bullies themselves.
I’ve also been very passionate over the years about building community. I have often said that the schools can and should be the center of our neighborhoods. I think one of the best ways to build that spirit of community is bettering our communications processes and remembering that communication is a two-way street. Yes, let’s tell people what’s happening. But let’s also ask them what’s happening. Let’s be open to new ideas —this is a philosophy that can be implemented in the classroom, at the school level, at the district level, and certainly at the board level.
How does my candidacy differ from the others? Simply put, I’ve been volunteering in the district for the last 18 years. This would be a continuation of my work. While my three children were students in the district, I was a very active parent and PTA leader. I have been there collaborating with the many district stakeholders and have been an advocate for many children and parents in our district. I’m proud of what I’ve been able to do and thankful to have had the opportunity. This has been a labor of love and I believe that the school board is the logical next step. Unlike many of the people running, I’ve been around for 18 years, working in the schools, being on school committees and showing up to and participating in school board meetings. I’ve been there and will continue to be there for our kids.