How long have you lived in Williamson County?
7 years
Employer/Occupation:
Metro Nashville Public Schools/Educational Administration
What was your personal education experience for primary and secondary education?
I attended public school
What are your family connections to Williamson County Schools?
My kid(s) currently attend a WCS school (2024-2025), My kid(s) graduated from WCS
Which WCS school(s) do your children attend? (Write N/A if not applicable)
Mill Creek ES, Mill Creek MS, Nolensville HS
What, if any, involvement have you had in local public schools before running for this office?
PTO Member; PTO Secretary for Nolensville HS; NHS Football Team Mom; Mill Creek Middle Football and Basketball volunteer; donated money each year to the schools
Please list any professional or personal organizations you’re currently involved with or have recently been involved with (within the last 3 years), including where you sit on a Board or committee, volunteer, or regularly attend meetings:
Friends of the Nolensville Library–2023; Art Helps Cancer–23-current; Nolensville Youth Athletics–2011-2023–variety of roles, including secretary, director of coaches for football, coached basketball, Tball, and flag football; Wilco Girls Flag Football Coach–2024; Nolensville Clean-up Volunteer–22-23; Nolensville Historical Society Member–current; Hearts Together Nolo–current
What do you think are the three most pressing issues facing Tennessee public schools (especially Williamson County Schools) at this time, and how do you plan to address them?
Fiscal accountability; transparency; recruiting/retaining high quality educators and staff
What is your vision for recruiting and retaining teachers?
One of the first things I plan to do is take a deep dive into the budget to see where we might strategically reallocate funding to provide teachers and school-based staff raises. Even though a pay raise is great, educators do not go into this profession for the money, it is a calling. Research indicates that most people leave jobs because of culture. Therefore, the second thing I want to do is find ways to foster a culture of trust where educators are empowered to provide high-quality instruction every day.
What areas of the WCS strategic plan do you think need the most attention?
Research indicates that the best way to support student achievement is by having high quality teachers in every classroom. Therefore, Strategic Commitment #2 of the strategic plan would be a priority area of focus for me.
What are some positive steps that you think the district can take to further improve inclusion of all students regardless of race, religion, or political preference?
WCS is a public school and cannot legally exclude people. Furthermore, they already have a notice of nondiscrimination, which states, “It is the policy of the Williamson County School district not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age (for employment), marital status (for programs), sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic status (for programs) in its educational programs and its employment practices.” I fully support this statement.
Recent legislation in TN permits school districts to allow armed teachers in public high schools. Would you support arming teachers in Williamson County schools? If so, in what scenario?
Regarding arming teachers in schools, I am not in favor of arming teachers with guns in the classroom. First and foremost, I know very few teachers who would want that extra responsibility. I know when I was teaching in the middle school classroom, I would not have wanted to have a gun on me for fear that something harmful to my students might unintentionally happen. We already ask teachers to do too much in the classroom; therefore, I would not want this added burden to them.
Regarding the TN legislation that passed, if you read all of it there are several things that must be in place BEFORE a school employee may carry a gun to school. A Memorandum of Understanding between the school superintendent and the chief of the appropriate law enforcement agency. Obtaining a handgun carry permit. Completing annual training. WCS is fortunate to have a wealth of resources, including the wonderful SRO partnership with the sheriff’s office. Therefore, this legislation really does not apply to us. The spirit of the bill was to allow rural districts that don’t have the resources we have the option of having some teachers carry.
One responsibility of the school board is to evaluate the superintendent’s record. From your perspective, how has Superintendent Golden performed recently?
Since I am not currently on the school board, one of the first things I need to do if elected is to see the evaluation criteria used to evaluate him and to review the data to make an informed decision. As his boss, it is also my job to communicate expectations with him, support him in reaching those goals, and have a candid conversation with him if the data is showing that the criteria is not being met.
Do you agree with the WCS Board’s resolution to denounce a voucher program? Why or why not?
I do not agree with the WCS Board having a resolution about the voucher program because that is not the role of the local school board. The school board has 4 roles–hire/fire/evaluate the director; establish the vision/mission/strategic plan; maintain and propose new policies; and approve the budget. With that being said, here is my FB post on March 12th regarding the voucher program:
“In an attempt to pass the voucher legislation here in TN, it has been bundled with changes needed in public schools such as fewer testing requirements, fewer evaluations for highly effective teachers, extending the length of a valid teaching license, dissolving the ineffective Achievement School District as the state realized that they can’t run schools better than local districts, & changing chronic absenteeism rules to give more local control to districts. It passed the House Education Administration Committee last week & is now going to be discussed & voted on today by the Senate Finance, Ways, & Means committee. One thing I have noticed in education is we have non-educators making decisions about education because the business of education has become a cash cow in our country at the expense of moving money further away from educators & children in our public school classrooms. I do not agree with it. My recommendation is we band together & ask the Senate to vote no on HB1186 to keep the voucher program from taking money away from local districts. If you’d like to watch the video of the bill in the House Education Committee, go to 31:52 in this video from Wednesday: https://tnga.granicus.com/player/clip/29816
If an incumbent, what are you most proud of during your tenure in office?
n/a
Will you participate in non-partisan public candidate events for this election? (e.g. forums or townhalls)
Yes
If elected, what methods will you use to communicate with your constituents?
As an elected public servant, communication is critical to successfully serving constituents. I will always be accessible via cell phone and email. Proactively, I plan to send out a Monthly Margie Memo and plan monthly coffee talks with constituents. I will ultimately work toward having an “advisory committee” where constituents can apply to help provide me with their perspectives on upcoming school board policy, issues, and budgetary considerations.
What do voters need to know about you that we haven’t already asked when deciding whom to support and vote for as their representative?
I am a licensed educator and administrator with 28 years of experience and counting in education. My career began serving as a middle school teacher for 4 years, where I taught mainly science in Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee. In 2003, I began serving in central administration for Metro Nashville Public Schools in a variety of roles, including instructional technology, professional development, and data use. I also have a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership–Curriculum and Instruction. My favorite role is as mom to my 3 amazing sons who came to me through the wonderful gift of adoption. One son is from Korea, and I have 2 sons from Ethiopia.