SPEECH I DELIVERED TO THE WOLFE COMMUNITY WHEN I RAN FOR SCHOOL BOARD IN 1994:

Thank you for holding this forum and for allowing us the opportunity to speak.  I am Mary McGarr, the incumbent in Position 6.  I have been on the board of trustees for three years.  I am a former high school English teacher having taught 12 years before I stopped teaching to raise my two children.  I have a Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas Tech.  I am married to Gary McGarr who is an electrical engineer with two degrees from Rice University.  He has been a Little League coach and umpire for 25 years, and was president of the Taylor High School Athletic Booster Club in 1986-87.  We have two sons.  Robby graduated in the top 5% at Taylor and recently graduated from Rice University with a degree in electrical engineering. He is employed by Nabors Industries as a network engineer.  My son Shay graduated from Taylor also in the top 5% of his class and is a sophomore at Rice University majoring in electrical engineering.

I remember well the first time I ever came to Wolfe Elementary.  Betty Laney was president of the parent organization.  I was active in the parent group at Nottingham Country Elementary, and we were trying to get a KISD parent council organized.  The only problem was that the then superintendent didn’t want us to do that and had forbidden us to gather in a school facility.  Mr. Wolfe, however, was his own man and told us we could meet in the Addicks Elementary cafeteria, and we did.  My principal at Nottingham told me if I attended I could not say I was from Nottingham Country Elementary!  We all, of course, ignored their commands and met anyway.  This story sounds like it happened fifty years ago, but it’s only been about ten.  Allowing parents to have some input into this district’s affairs has always been an uphill fight, and as long as I’ve been here, I’ve been a part of that fight.

Since that first visit, my experiences at Wolfe have always been pleasant.  As a school board member, I have taken a keen interest in your children and your school and its teachers.  I have been here to watch your parades; I have watched your field days; I have been with your children when they visited the Taste of Texas; I have attended your PTO presentations; I spent a lovely afternoon watching your children say a fond goodbye to your head custodian, Mrs. Baker, when she retired; I donned bunny ears just last week and read to your first graders; I have voted to address your drainage problems, I have rejected repeatedly efforts of apartment development on parts of this property, and I have rejected any notions of closing this school.  I am the one who requested the CDS report through the Open Records Act and told you of the superintendent's intent to close Wolfe the last time I was a candidate in 1991.  I am a firm believer in the neighborhood school concept at the elementary level.  You have no better friend on the school board.

On a larger scale I have worked to address the security problems at the secondary schools; I am the one who suggested to a candidate from your neighborhood last year that anyone could walk into just about any KISD school, go the length of the building and never be stopped.  The candidate did just that and talked about it while campaigning for her election.  That situation no longer exists [at least in 1994!]; I have supported stringent measures to insure that your children are safe.  More needs to be done, and I am your advocate.

I am the one who has expressed concern that so many of you have pulled your children out of our schools and sent them to private ones.  It is our school district’s loss when your children leave our Katy schools.  Unfortunately, my opinion is not shared.  The school district will happily take all your tax money while not having to educate your children! 

No one works harder at this job than I do.  No one has as much time or interest.  No one has the experience or the background that I do.  I do it because it is personal and because public education has given to me in so many ways.  There are no benefits for me other than knowing I have given back to my community.  My family does not gain financially from any of the school district’s business. I am not trying to sell you or the district anything.

My motives are apparent; I have no hidden agendas.  As I said at Tuesday night’s forum, “I can’t imagine why you would want to get rid of me!”