Name: Margie Gewirtzman
Party affiliation: Democrat
Career: Acupuncturist (mainly advocating for my children)
Degree: Masters in Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine, Human Physiology, BS
Q: What qualifies you to serve on the New Hanover County Schools Board of Education?
A: Eighteen years of advocacy and collaboration with schools in creating and meeting the IEPs (individual education programs) for all three of my children qualifies me to serve on the board of education. I have a deep respect for the work and processes of the public school system in providing all kids with safe, accessible and engaging education. I will be someone who will work tirelessly to ensure the students, parents, staff and schools have the support and resources they need to continue educating our children in a safe environment.
Q: Name one top priority policy change you want to see and how you will work to achieve it.
A: The top priority policy change is the state funding formula. A coalition of all our boards of education need to create a new funding formula that properly and safely staff what we, as present-day educators, deem necessary for a safe and supportive education environment. Then we get the proposal pushed through the NC government. The push would require a unified voice of every current organization in NC to create a constant and focused pressure on every member touching the bill to get it moved to the top of the list and on the floor for voting.
Q: What is your view of the current board’s leadership? What are they succeeding at and what needs to be improved?
A: They have worked to repair the trust and transparency between the parents, teachers and board. I think an even more aggressive advocacy is needed for both funding and EC support for all the NHC schools.
Q: What is the biggest challenge facing the school district?
A: The further hemorrhaging of essential staff from all levels due to all the funding cuts from state and federal legislation.
Q: Even though the people will vote on the $320-million school bond, would you advocate for its support? Why or why not?
A: Our children and staff deserve safe and effective educational spaces, which requires updates and new buildings to reduce overcrowding.
Q: What would you like to see the state legislature do regarding school funding?
A: The state legislature needs to update the funding formula to finally reflect the current accepted needs of staff needed to provide equitable, accessible and safe educational experiences.
Q: What is your view of the board’s role in overseeing curriculum and library book selections?
A: I find that the board should be soliciting the expertise of librarians — professionals who have degrees in library sciences — to guide the creation of the library book selections. We should be welcoming literature that showcases all cultures, all expressions of self, all accurately depicted lived experiences. I believe in the power of literature to inform others of view points and experience to help broaden and educate our children but also to represent experiences that they themselves are having. Isolation is a painful and shameful way to exist when you have never seen any representation of your uniqueness represented in the media. Stories to hold the light for hope and faith during the darkest of times teaches our children the resilience they may need when facing the darkest and most vile things that can happen to a human or by a human. Additionally, these stories can show how to find repair and reconciliation between enemies.
Q: What are specific actions you would support the board voting on to address its low-performing schools?
A: Actions to ask the community partners to raise funds to pay for the staff needed to implement the support needed to address the accommodations and interventions proven to bring kids back up to passing or higher levels. Call to partner with retired teachers or student teachers in local college programs to push into afterschool programs or inschool programs for more support. Review the physical teaching supplies — such as workbooks, audio books, computers, grade level books, etc. — that would immediately enrich and support the growth. Create high school volunteer programs so high-schoolers could spend a free periods in sister elementary schools or middle schools to tutor as well.
Q: What do you think The Endowment should fund for schools versus what should be funded by the government in the school budget?
A: Our tax dollars need to be funding a fully staffed and safely staffed and resourced school district. In a perfect world that would happen and then there would be no need to ask The Endowment to fund salaries and we could focus Endowment funds on improved curriculum, teacher training, parent training, enrichment programs for all the students — in robotics, sciences, arts, vocational, government and entrepreneurship areas. But, during this current funding crisis, all funds that aren’t for capital improvements must be for staffing what has been lost.
Q: How do you view your role in providing information to the public and the press?
A: The public absolutely does not have the full information on how these state funding formulas work or who created them and when they were created. Once they fully understand this and what action steps are needed to correct this statewide dysfunction, they can become part of the solution to support and resource our schools. It is the job of the board of education to fully inform in a truly accessible way so that a clear understanding of the path we need to take can be processed by all our communities. The information must be framed in a way that the entire board and superintendent approve of and has input on.
Other conflicts that inevitably arise will be with careful consideration of the safety of all involved and especially the children if any are involved should again be provided to the public in a way that keeps our (the board’s) integrity intact while keeping the trust and respect of our community.