Q&A with Board of Education District 2 candidate Mary P. Bagby

Mary P. Bagby is running for the District 2 seat on the CCSD Board of Education. A long time resident of Athens, mother and grandmother of Cedar Shoals graduates, Bagby also has current great-grandchildren in CCSD schools. Bagby grew up in both North Carolina and Georgia, graduating from Athens Technical College with diplomas and certificates in paralegal studies. She is a certified nursing assistant who has worked for Athens doctors and at the former Georgia Retardation Center. Bagby gives back to the community by distributing food, clothing and books. On Christmas Eve, she hosts a brunch at Triangle Plaza. Bagby strives to lead a life with integrity, something that she shares with her children to leave as a legacy. 

News Editor Stephany Gaona-Perez: Why did you decide to run for the District 2 seat?

Mary Bagby, District 2 BOE candidate: There are changes that need to be made. The parents are not really represented and the children are not represented or supported. As I have gone to board meetings for the last two years, I have heard nothing from anyone about spending money on the children. I’ve heard the budget. I’ve gone to all meetings, I go to the backroom meetings as well. I feel that’s why some people misunderstand the questions and the concerns I raise when I grab the microphone on nights that the public has input. In that back room where they have those meetings – they call them the agenda-setting meetings and the business meetings, – the Board of Education Members, no one is in those meetings except people that are on Athens Clarke County payroll. The only other people in those meetings would be me and Mr. Lee Shearer, if you go back and look at the tapes from the last two years, we are the only two people that are not on Athens Clarke County payroll. And those meetings last three, four, and sometimes five hours one night. One of the meetings lasted from six o’clock until a quarter to 11 because I left at 20 minutes to 11, they were still having another Executive Session meeting. I am aware of what’s going on in the school system. But I would like for the public to get more involved. Don’t just come at the nights when the public has input. Come to the meetings in the backroom, spend some time back there, and watch how they govern. When the audience comes on the second Thursday, which is what they used to do, they would have the public input on the second Thursday, but the first Thursday and the third Thursday is when they are in the back room making decisions. So when the public gets there, they have already decided what they’re going to present to you. You need to be in the backroom when they’re making those decisions, so you can have input. That’s why people misunderstand some of the things I talk about because I’m talking about what you didn’t hear in the back room. In the back room, everybody is on the payroll except Mary and Mr. Lee Shearer, sometimes maybe a couple of other people. I’m talking about when you come into the second Thursday meeting everybody’s sitting over there behind the superintendent and the board. All those people are there, they get paid from Athens Clarke County, and other people go there as well. So we need to get the people more involved, and I am involved. I know what’s going on. That’s why I need to be on the board. Because I can bring clarity, I can bring fairness, I can make the parents aware of their rights. I want due process. I’m not going to get off track. I know what my mandate is. I know the difference between mandate and dictate. The mandate is from the legislators. They have rules and regulations that they want us to adhere to. And they have been violated and they’ve been violated by people on the board. We need stability and we need somebody to say, let’s go back to the rules. Let’s go back to what we’re supposed to be doing.

SG: How do you plan on getting more people involved?

MB: Being accessible, letting them have my phone number, my address, my email, and sending out the literature through the schools, saying that I am available. I want to bridge the gap. I want you not to feel intimidated when you come to the meetings. I’m willing to go to meetings with parents because I have been a parent that had to go to IEP meetings that didn’t always know my rights. I went to one. When I pulled out a recorder, they stopped the meeting. And that was years ago. Now there are 10 people in the room with a parent who’s already feeling [like they are] not quite meeting your standards. Then you’ve got eight or nine or 10 people in there talking about things that they’re going to do to your child. You don’t know whether you have rights or not. So I want due process, I want the parents to know that they have a voice, know that their voices should be heard and that their voice will be heard and know that their children need to be taught. I have been going to the board meetings for about two years. 

Did you know that the schools didn’t even have sheets for the infirmary? The sickbed or whatever you want to call it for the children, they land on a plastic mat. The CDC agrees with me, there need to be sheets in there. I have already gotten it implemented, without being on the board, after being rejected, because I had been working with the director of nursing Amy Roark. I have informed her that is not proper, it’s not safe, it’s not sanitary. I’m concerned about the children’s safety and health. I won’t get off track with what has been mandated, what’s necessary and what rights have been ignored. At one of the board meetings, I asked all of the board members, “How many of you on this board have gone to visit any school in the district that you represent?” And I did not get an answer. I’ve gone on tours of the schools, and I’ve gone into the infirmaries. I know what needs to be done. But I need to sit at the table. Because it does not do much good for me to go to every public meeting and grab a microphone when I don’t have any control. I need to sit on that board to vote for things that’s going to benefit the children, all the children, but district 2 in particular. I don’t care what’s being asked to me, I’m going to go right back to what I intend to do according to what’s allowed through the policies and procedures. 

There’s no money being spent in District 2 for the children. I go and I listen to the man that talks about all the millions of dollars that Athens Clarke County has at every meeting, the finance advisor, and no one is ever saying, “Let’s spend some on something for the children.” Why can’t we have tutoring? I want to get things implemented. I don’t want our children going through the pipeline to prison, from the school to the prisons. Let’s do something about it. Let’s put the money where the children can have it.Why can’t we have after school tutoring and the buses can take the children home afterward? We can give them millions of dollars. No one is saying let’s spend it on the children, millions of dollars and no one is saying, “Let’s spend it on safety. Let’s spend it on the school inside the school business.” So the temperature doesn’t have to vary, you have cold spots here, warm spots here and it feels like mildew here, and mold here because it’s not adequately and sufficiently insulated. Let’s use what we have to make it better for the children. 

I want to say something else that I don’t know if you’re aware of, but you young people can Google it and research it. It’s called the million-dollar block. Have y’all heard of the million-dollar block? The million-dollar block is supposedly in every city. There’s a certain area where the police have labeled for so many people to go to jail, and they call it the million-dollar block. So I don’t want that to happen here, in Athens. I don’t want us to have a million-dollar block. I don’t want us to have an area where they have targeted and said, “In this area, we’re gonna make sure that so many children go to jail”. I know what my duties are. I know what I’m called to do, and I’m gonna stay on it. And for more information about the million-dollar block, you can call the civil, the criminal justice system in Washington DC or you can get in touch with someone in the NAACP at the National branch and the young lady’s name is Ngozi Ndulue. She is a criminal justice person that gave a seminar a few years ago that I happened to attend. I found out about this million-dollar block that’s in every city. If I’m a cook, a bus driver, and then I can say, “I think you need to give me this raise because I worked so many years and I deserve a raise right here.” I’m concerned about District 2 children and parents, because I’ve been the parent, I had to go to meetings. I’m concerned about due process for how the teacher can decide to punish a child and don’t even allow parent participation in it when their parents come to the school and want to go to know what happened to her child. I’m concerned about due process. I’m concerned about human rights. justice for all.

SG: Where have you worked previously?

MB: I’ve worked at the Georgia Retardation Center in Athens on College Station road. It was a center where we had children of different ages. We had the fourth floor for teenage girls, the third floor was for teenage boys and the second floor for younger children. So I have had all types of instances on how to handle all types of behavior that’s imaginable from anyone that’s having any problems. I received three supervisory promotions while I was there, and I was in charge of the whole entire complex. I have worked as a certified nursing assistant here in Athens and in Fayetteville, Georgia with our Public Service Commission, Mr. Tim Echols — [I] took care of his mom. I’ve worked for different doctors here in Athens: Dr. Cuff and  Dr. Sheffield. I worked for many people, and I have a good work record and good work ethic.

SG: How has your involvement with the community further improved your qualities to serve as a board member?

MB: I know what the people need because I’m out in the community. I have a food ministry that I go on every week Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Whenever I have food, I distribute it. I distribute clothes and books because about 10 years ago, I heard someone on the radio say that the black children didn’t have books. I know that’s not true. I make sure some children get them because I go through areas in my neighborhood and I give out books. Every Christmas Eve, when everybody’s hustling and bustling, taking care of their own things, I feel the call to take care of God’s people who might be less fortunate. Maybe they’re not less fortunate. Maybe they just don’t have a place to go for that day. Maybe they live alone or something of that nature. So I have a Christmas Eve brunch at the Triangle Plaza and serve food. On my campaign literature, you only see my picture. As I was going out doing things with integrity and a true intent in my heart, something came to me. It was scripture and he says, “They with feigned words, make merchandise of you.” It meant that when I do something for you, I gotta take a picture of me doing it for you, and I get the glory. But now if you don’t have anything to eat, you’re probably not going to feel good with me taking the pictures. At my Christmas Eve brunches, and they are quite fabulous, I don’t take pictures. There are no pictures of anyone eating, drinking, holding gifts, or anything of that nature because I don’t want to make merchandise of good people. I don’t want to do something to gain something out of your misfortune. I wouldn’t want you doing it to me. So that’s why you don’t see pictures of me, but you can see me out in the community. You can see my car full of clothes, books, and food, I give coats away during the wintertime. And then in the summer, I have gone through the city handing out sodas and potato chips or water and pastries. I don’t advertise because there’s a reward coming from someone that you don’t have any control over giving to me. 

And that’s why I live my life with integrity, leaving a legacy of honesty. It’s called moral fortitude. Do the right thing. whether somebody is watching you or not: integrity. That’s the legacy, and that’s what I want to instill in our children. That’s why I want them to know that they are worthy. That they are loved, that they are geniuses because they don’t hear that. They don’t have to go to prison from the school, but we can turn it around if we know what to do. I know what to do. I know what’s needed. I want to bridge the gap. I want to educate the parents. I want them to feel the closeness  I want them to know that I care. I’ve been to more meetings than most of the board members have. When you see them with the microphone out front, and when you don’t see them in the back room, that’s when Mary P. Bagby is listening and asking questions and calling. There are other issues that are going on in school, but I need to be sitting on the board because I need to vote for things that are going to be better for the whole system. I already implemented getting sheets for the beds. That happened last year. I got a report that most of the schools now have the sheets (in nurses’ offices) that they didn’t have before, but why should I have to tell them if they have nurses and a director of nursing? See you have to hold people accountable. That’s what I want to do.

SG: In an interview with The Funky Academic, when asked what would you bring to the board that others won’t, you answered, “I think more important than a perfect fit, you need someone that can help fix the problem. That’s what I want to bring to the table.” What did you mean by this? How specifically will you “fix the problem?”

MB: What I just said. They didn’t have sheets. That’s a violation. That’s a safety violation, even a CDC one. I had it implemented without sitting on the board because it needed to be done. I want us to do what needs to be done for the children. Something’s wrong there. Our children should not be getting raped, molested, beat up in the bathrooms, in the stairwells. So I’m already working on something with Mr. Fisher to make sure that the hallways and the stairwells are not empty, but somebody is walking in and out. I’m already getting those things done. I’ve been doing it since over a year ago, without sitting down, but when they make decisions that affect our children, and they’re not even going by policies, procedures, and protocols, somebody needs to be there to say, “What does the policy say about this?” Don’t be dictating. Follow the mandate, instead of being in a place that you want to dictate. I don’t want to fit in. I want to help fix the problems, and I can be congenial, I can be cordial, I can be diplomatic. I want to be an ambassador to represent District 2.

Staff writer Jackie Wright: What ways have you found to stay involved in the community while keeping yourself and others safe?

MB: Food is good. And there’s something spiritual about food that maybe people hadn’t thought about. I still give out food. One young lady asked me last week, she was about six or seven years old. She said, “How do you know who is hungry? And who to give the food to?” I said, “I do what God tells me to do,” I said, “I love you. So I do this, God tells me what to do. I got love for all my people and you’re my people.” I gave her a hug. A few weeks ago, I made a huge pot of soup. I stayed over at the triangle plaza and people that were coming by, I gave them a bowl of soup and some crackers and some potato chips and things like that.

JW: How do you balance your value for your community with personal risk?

MB: I take it on myself. They say change your clothes, wash your hands, and I do all that. I’m not afraid for myself, because what are your standards? What do you really believe? I’ll share this with you about 2020. 2020 means perfect vision. When you look up 2020 in the Hebrew, it means rescue and deliverance. When you look up 2020 in Greek, it means rolling into the light. Dawn is coming. This is a year where I say the covers are coming off of everybody. The wicked are being seen as wicked and the righteous are being seen as righteous. No one is going to be able to throw rocks and hide their hands for very long, so this is a year of reckoning and truth. The disease is just a part of Revelation. It’s just a part of seeing what’s going to happen, who’s going to do something. I stand by Psalms 91: no terror, no arrow, no destruction and no pestilence shall come by me. So I take the whole Holy Writ, or I throw the whole entire Holy Writ away. You can’t have things both ways. 2020 is the year to take a stand. What will you take a stand for, whatever should happen to you? What are people gonna remember about you? What is your legacy that you’re leaving behind? Everyone is having to take a stand in 2020.

JW: How has your campaign been affected by this virus?

MB: I have a campaign manager and a treasurer and some other people that are working with me. We’re having some difficulty getting some paperwork and things that I need from the Board of elections. However we are continuing on. I did get yard signs.

JW: What do you think the district has handled well, in terms of keeping the community healthy through this time?

MB: They shut everything down. They did what they felt like they needed to do. I have my own personal thoughts about this Coronavirus. I know that last year the University of Georgia received money to find a vaccine. I heard on the news this week  that they probably have discovered a vaccine. I’m hearing different stories from different people who believe that a lot of the staying away is not going to help your immune system. How you eat and take care of your body is what builds up your immune system. If you are getting your vitamin D, you’re getting your B12s. Are you eating your fruits and vegetables and drinking your juices and drinking water? That’s how you build up your immune system; you’re not building up your immune system by staying away from people. 

JW: Do you think it’s a good decision to continue to hold the election in June, and if so are there any changes you would make to the process?

MB: I think it’s a decision to not continue putting off and delaying. Haste makes waste. I was hoping that they would have had the election in May, but they didn’t. I’m not in control of that. I obey the rules and the laws that govern, except when they come in conflict with the word of God. I stand on what I believe, what I’ve been brought up under: my faith, my belief. I live my life of honesty and integrity, moral fortitude.

JW: Despite digital learning, there will be students who miss content. What do you think is the solution to make up for that once we get back to school?

MB: Tutoring. The children need to have tutors in place. We have millions of dollars. Let’s stop talking about how much money we got. Let’s start using it for productivity, to bring the children up to the levels of where they should be. 

Can I tell you a story about someone named Malcolm Mitchell? He was a young football player that made it all the way to the University of Georgia. But he couldn’t read. Sixth grade education. How do you get to the University of Georgia on a sixth grade education when you have to take these tests? He fell through the cracks, but he was fortunate because somebody had their eyes on him, because he was a money making machine for someone. So he made it. I want to change that. If a child is at Gaines Elementary, that child should not be allowed to go to Hilsman if they’re only reading on second and third and fourth grade level. I want some changes made. I want the children to be elevated. Let’s let’s put tutoring into place. I think this is a good time to do it, but this virus that’s out now. When school comes back up. Let’s have the sheets on all the beds they’re supposed to be. Now in prison, even in jail, they have a sheet. If they don’t have a sheet, then they go into the infirmary with a fever and they’re laying there sleeping and sweating on a plastic mat and drooling. But these folks have sheets just like in the doctor’s office, those paper throwaway sheets.

JW: Who do you envision would be tutoring students?

MB: What about teachers? When I was going to school there were teachers who specialized in English, there were teachers who specialized in math, there were teachers who specialized in social studies, there were teachers who specialized in science. Why can’t we do that? Why can’t we have people who are qualified to teach it, and have tutoring every day. Now to play catch up, let’s have tutoring everyday after school. Let’s have the tutors come in everyday after school. The children that need it, they get tutors. Let’s serve them a snack and something to drink, let’s have the bus take them home. The money is there, let’s spend the money on the children please. 

JW: What is your opinion on the 21st Century Program?

MB: Let’s make it a mandate. Let’s have it a part of policy that children would get tutoring, since we have had this shut-in situation. Many children are not getting what they need at home because of computer skills and things of that nature, and parents’ hours of working. If school starts back up, let’s just automatically have it in place. This is what we’re going to do for the next year: we’re going to have tutors come in to tutor the children that need it so they won’t be falling through the cracks. And then we can help them get back to the level that they need to be. 

Assistant Editor Brittany Lopez: If you were to be elected for the board, which committees would you like to serve on? 

MB: They have so many, I would have to think about it. I know that they have different committees. I know that some people want to be in some committees for control. There are several that I could be on. Property, probably on one of those because it seems like many people want to take property from the school. I would like to be in that committee to find out what they are doing with the properties. A policy, like when they wrote a policy a few weeks ago and they had to go back to get it reviewed. I would like for us to follow the mandates of the policy and procedures that are in place. So I would need to know what’s going and whatever I feel led to be owned. I’ve thought about being in committees, I’ve thought about things not being done. When there’s a rule or policy and you say “We’re not going to do it that way we are going to do it my way,” we need to straighten that out. First, we need to follow the mandates. The priority is to adhere to the mandates of the legislature that does it the way it’s supposed to be done. Don’t pick and choose, do what’s right.

BL: How does your experience bring a unique perspective to the board?

MB: I’ve been the parent at the table with all the teachers making decisions for the child. I’ve gone to different meetings. I’ve seen them and been exposed to other people’s meetings that they’ve had with the teachers. So I bring a perspective of understanding the needs of the parents and the children. 

BL: If chosen to be on the board, what are your specific goals? 

MB: Doing things right. Following proper procedures and protocols. I’ve got tunnel vision when it comes to things that are supposed to be done or things that are not being done, That’s what I’m going to bring to the table. That’s my perspective, that’s my design, that’s my intention. The children need to be taught by qualified teachers. 

BL: Where would you want to see funding being directed?

MB: Teachers and education. I hear people talking about money for everybody. It’s money for the children and it goes back to something Dr. King said. He said during the Vietnam war “America paid $500,000 for every Vietnamese [enemy soldier] that was killed.” $500,000 for every one of them that was killed and America spent $53 [for every poor person in America per year]. Let’s spend the money to educate people. You want to give me a fish but I still have to come back to you. Instead, why don’t you teach me how to fish and then I can go get my own? Education is the way out of deprivation. 

BL: How would you accommodate students who need IEPs or have learning disabilities? There’s a need for direct funding. What are your plans to help these students? 

MB: Do you already know that [for] every child that is labeled learning disabled, ADD, and all that, the school gets grant money? They get money and some parents don’t even know their rights. I want due process. I want to sit on the board to bring due process. Parents don’t know all of their rights. Children don’t know all of their rights. Educate them about their due process. Don’t tell me you’re going to put my child on medication when I have a right to get someone else to help me decide what to do about that. 

BL: In your opinion which programs necessitate greater funding? 

MB: The schools need to be safe. There are safety issues at the school. Where are the monitors? Because if someone can be raped by three or four different people, we need monitors. If the school has hot spots that could breed mold, where are the things for safety issues? Health issues? So health and safety is what’s needed. Education, health, and safety. 

BL: Are there any specific programs you would like to see growth in? 

MB: I think we don’t pay enough attention to some of the academics and JROTC. To see those children doing their drills is beautiful. We don’t shine a light on many of the good things that are going on with the children. I’d like to see that more and the light put on that more. What they are doing for discipline and structure. I like going to those drills and seeing them perform and the discipline they have. They come from all over. [I want] to encourage those students to have discipline and structure in their life. 

BL: Latinx students make up a quarter of CCSD students yet not one school board member is Latinx. How will you work to represent your constituents in issues specific to the Latinx community? 

MB: We have Latino teachers, don’t we? 

BL: Yes but not one of the board members is Latinx. How will you work with your constituents to make sure they are being heard? 

MB: Well, I will go into the community because I have gone into different areas. In my food route, I have Latino people on there as well. We have to get the parents involved. I am involved. 

BL: What issues do you see within the board that you hope to fix and how would you do this? 

MB: I would like the board to stop having ego trips. When you say “I know the rules, but I’m not going to go by the rules, I’m going to do it my way,” is that being egotistical? Is that going by mandates or by dictate? We have a policy in place and I say “according to this policy right here this is the way we are supposed to do it.” Another board member said, “I’m not going to do that, no.” That’s where the problems are. People are doing their thing. People are not adhering to policy. Probably haven’t even read some of them — probably why some of them have been violated. I don’t care to discuss that. If you’re going by the rules, there is no reason to get angry at someone. Let’s just do what the rules say to do.

BL: What qualities would you look for into a new superintendent? 

MB: A superintendent that has the best interest of the children at heart. We are supposed to support the superintendent. When we had Phillip Lanoue here, I wasn’t at the meeting but to my understanding he said he would hire 30 teachers every year from the University of Georgia. Would y’all find out how many of those teachers were of color? Latino? Asian? Anything, black? White? Caucasian? 

SG:  Dr. Means said he wanted to make the district more equitable; specifically to close the gap in grades between black, brown, and white students. How much progress do you think he made in those goals?

MB: I think he made progress. I think people rejected what he was doing because as long as you can give me a fish and still teach me how to fish, you can control me. I think that’s what’s going on in Athens-Clarke County. I think education is the way out of poverty. I think that’s what is needed. I think that’s where he was trying to take us, and I think you have to appeal to someone’s conscience. Because if you can see someone doing wrong and you continue to allow it you are part of that problem. When we see someone doing wrong, we have to acknowledge it to them, because you have to appeal to a person’s conscience. You have to let them know that this is wrong and this is the way we need to go because this is not right. Then maybe they’ll change because of this inequality. This off-balance has been going on for years. The board of education should not be a buddy buddy system. They should come together to reach a successful goal. How can we get there? How can we get the children on the level that’s supposed to be? What do we need to do? I know what you need to do, because I’ve been a parent of children in school, a grandparent of children in school, and now I have great-grandchildren still in school. I’ll still go-to breakfasts, plays, everything. We want to know how to help them and reach them.

SG: What would you do to fix socioeconomic and racial inequalities in the CCSD schools?

MB: Don’t judge the children because of where they live. Like I said, no matter how I come to school or  if I come to school, teach me what I’m supposed to know. Don’t say I can’t learn it because I’m from over here or over there. Don’t say I cannot. I can. You’re supposed to make sure that I can. You’re qualified. You’re educated. You got all these degrees and plaques on your walls. Show me what you’re working with. If you have mastered algebra or geometry then the students are supposed to come away knowing the things you’re supposed to impart into the children. That’s what we need. We need the teachers to care and believe in the children. Even if you don’t believe them, you’re paid to teach them. Let’s do our jobs. I’ve been doing the job without the paycheck, and I’m gonna keep on working. I’d like to sit on that board because I can bring strength, integrity, and we can see our children improve. We can see more parents coming up because they will feel that they are important. They are needed and their voices will be heard. I am accessible, reachable, and I’m willing to hear what the parents desire.

SG: How do you feel about District 2 Representative Antwon Stephens’ appointment to the board? How was it handled and what would you have done differently? 

MB: I would have done the right thing. The right thing was if all his paperwork was not in, he should have not been allowed to grab that microphone that night. But they allowed it, knowing his paperwork was not in. My paperwork was in and I received the votes twice, so maybe I’m already alienated. They made a rule in December that whoever won the first round would sit there and I haven’t missed a meeting. Mr. Antwon Stephens missed his first meeting and I was at the meeting that he missed because I show up. I’m dependable. I’m reliable, capable, and committed. We will see progress when we put Mary P. Bagby on the board of education to represent District 2. 

JW:  What is your opinion on 1:1 technology in the classroom?

MB: I feel that it’s good but it needs to be monitored. When I was going to school, we didn’t have computers. But the teacher would come around and check everything out, they didn’t just leave us to ourselves. I think the one to one is good, but the teacher needs to be interacting, to make sure they are staying on task. 

JW: How would you say we have been successful in using our charter system status to better education for students?

MB: My understanding is with the charter, they make promises and then they can change their strategy in five years, saying we’re going to have so many children that are going to be at this place. Then in four or five years, they say we need two more years. This grant money is playing into what we do and don’t do for the children. I’ll have to study about that more. But I have heard about how the charter thing is helping other people get grants and move them out of the school into private schools. Money that’s supposed to be allocated to our public schools is not being allocated properly. I can’t discuss legal issues that I haven’t fully researched.  

The board members don’t really know anything about the (local school governance teams). As long as I’ve been going to the meetings I haven’t heard anybody say anything about them and what they’re doing for the children. I’m not going to pretend that I know all of that. I know that they haven’t reported anything to the board, because I’ve been at all the meetings. I don’t go out and try to do their job. They’re supposed to be presenting something to the board, but I’ve been to every board meeting and they haven’t presented anything. I will know more about it when I get on the board, I guarantee. 

SG: Why should the community vote for you? Why should the community look at you and say that you’re the perfect candidate for District 2?

MB: I know what the job entails. The job entails reading policies, procedures, did you know that? You have to actually sign off saying that you’re going to do it. I have been going to the meetings for two years. You have to follow the proper procedures and protocols that the state of Georgia’s legislators have mandated for Athens-Clarke County, for the board of education. And they don’t because they don’t know the policies and procedures. So I’m capable, ready, qualified, and I am the best candidate. Because I don’t have to learn the job. I have to do the job, perform the job that’s been mandated and make sure that the parents and the children know what’s going on. Make sure they get the information that they need.

SG: Anything else you’d like to add? 
MB: I would like for the people to come out and vote for Mary P. Bagby. I’m the best candidate for District 2. I’ve had some setbacks in the process, delays and things of that nature. However, we’re leaving it to the people this time and so let’s see what happens. I’m the best person. You’ll see me there every week, every meeting, Thank you.