Marcia Andrews Claims New Term On School Board

Incumbent Marcia Andrews was easily re-elected Tuesday to the District 6 seat on the Palm Beach County School Board.

According to unofficial results, Andrews took 7,194 votes (57.0 percent), while former Palm Beach County School District Chief Operating Officer Joe Moore garnered 4,087 votes (32.4 percent). Education activist Carla Donaldson, who withdrew from the race earlier this month, took 1,334 votes (10.6 percent).

Andrews, who will now serve a second four-year term on the school board, gathered with friends, family and supporters Tuesday night at the White Elephant restaurant in Wellington.

“I was very happy to be elected to a second term,” she told the Town-Crier on Wednesday. “I just started my work with the first four years, and I needed some time to complete many of the projects I’ve started on.”

Andrews feels that the results speak to the deep connections she has made with people all across the western communities and the Glades.

“I do have a wonderful connection with the community, and the stakeholders of the community, and the parents and the schools all over District 6,” she said. “I’m just happy to get another chance, over the next four years, to take it to the next level.”

One of Andrews’ projects involves increasing the number of International Baccalaureate, or IB, programs in the western communities, starting with Royal Palm Beach High School. “It’s important for me to get that fully implemented,” she said.

On Wednesday morning, Andrews was out gathering signs from around the area before heading to a 2 p.m. school board meeting. “I wanted to make sure I cleaned it up because it’s important to not have the place littered up with signs,” she said.

Andrews added that she wanted to thank voters “for the confidence they have in me to continue to serve the community; to continue to be the leader, the policy maker, for the school district; the confidence they have in me to know that I will be taking care of their children to make sure they are college- and career-ready; and the confidence that they have in me to know that I will always be accessible to them.”

The next four years will pose many critical issues relating to the school district’s budget, capital projects, approach to charter schools and unfunded mandates. Working with those big issues will help to bring an even playing field, Andrews said.

She noted that Glades residents showed her a great deal of support.

“They know that we’ve been working hard,” she said. “We’re working on curriculum, programs, teachers and things like that, so we can work with parents to get better results from our students in the Glades area. I was very appreciative that the Glades community feels, based on my experience as a teacher and a principal, that I can help make a lot of that happen.”

Across a large district, Andrews is often going from place to place to personally meet with individuals and to make it to the next location, placing an emphasis on accessibility.

“You can call me anytime. I’m always accessible. This is what I do. I like to take care and make a difference,” she said. “I believe that over the last few years, I’ve had great relationships with all of my communities… Wellington and Royal Palm Beach and Loxahatchee and The Acreage and Lake Worth. I know everybody, because I’m out and about in all of the activities. And the Glades area, I know them. When things happen, they know how to get to me.”

Andrews said she enjoys her work and is thrilled to be re-elected. “I am so happy to have four years of being able to go to school activities, and work with the children, and just be involved,” she said. “There’s no better place to be than to be with the children and making sure that they’re happy and excited about learning and making sure that they’re successful.”

ABOVE: Marcia Andrews (seated center) celebrates with supporters as the election returns come in.