Bob McKenzie (Glynn County School System school board District 3, Georgia, candidate 2024)

Bob McKenzie

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Democratic Party

Candidate, Glynn County School System school board District 3

Elections and appointments

Last election

May 21, 2024

Education

High school

Council Rock High School

Bachelor's

Rider University, 1977

Personal

Birthplace

Philadelphia, Pa.

Religion

Catholic

Profession

Human resources

Contact

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Bob McKenzie (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Glynn County School System school board to represent District 3 in Georgia. He was on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024.

McKenzie completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Bob McKenzie provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on August 20, 2024:

• Birth date: June 25, 1955
• Birth place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• High school: Council Rock High School, Newtown, PA
• Bachelor's: Rider University, 1977
• Gender: Male
• Religion: Catholic
• Profession: Human Resources
• Incumbent officeholder: No
• Campaign slogan: Better Schools

Elections

General election

General election for Glynn County School System school board District 3

Incumbent John Madala and Bob McKenzie ran in the general election for Glynn County School System school board District 3 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	John Madala (R)
	Submit photo	Bob McKenzie (D)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Glynn County School System school board District 3

Bob McKenzie ran in the Democratic primary for Glynn County School System school board District 3 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Bob McKenzie

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	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Glynn County School System school board District 3

Incumbent John Madala ran in the Republican primary for Glynn County School System school board District 3 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	John Madala

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for McKenzie in this election.

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Bob McKenzie completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by McKenzie's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Business owner of McKenzieHR since 2002.

Served on three non profit boards - Beaches Habitat for Humanity, St. Johns County (FL) Vision, Easter Seals Florida.

Excellent communicator and problem solver.

My primary goals as a Membet of the Glynn County School Board are:

Move Glynn County Schools to the top 10% in Georgia.

Instill a higher level of support to teachers, students, administration and maintenance employees and bus drivers.

Increase the diversity of teachers to reflect the general population of Glynn County.

Ensure your tax dollars are being spent wisely.

Ensure high school graduates who are not going for further education are well equipped to enter the workforce. As a Human Resources professional, I can help with resume writing and job search techniques. I volunteered my time with the transition assistance programs on these topics at NASJAX and The Naval Station at Mayport for 10 straight years. I can do same for graduating students.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Put plans in place to ensure Glynn County Schools are in the top 10% in the state of Georgia.
• Employees of the School System need a support mechanism when they need it. As a Human Resources professional for over 40 years, I am well equipped to provide the support needed.
• The teachers will make or break the quality of student learning. Ensuring that the teachers are motivating student learning and have a high degree of passion for their students is critical to the success of the school system.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Proper funding for the schools. This includes pay scales for teachers, administrators, and all levels of jobs. School just started and recently, I have seen many teachers ask for financial help to purchase basic school supplies. We need to find a way to ensure teachers have the resources they need to do their jobs effectively without having to rely on donations.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

This may not be a popular response, but the person I look up to is Barack Obama. He has a high degree of empathy for the tragic events that occurred during his administration and had the courage to implement the Affordable Care Act.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, hard working, innovative, good listener, assertive, excellent communicator, good follow up skills, reliable.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I have great listening and problem solving skills, high energy, excellent communication skills and not afraid to speak up when necessary.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Managing the budget, being approachable, ability to debate issues without being aggressive, ability to communicate effectively with parents, teachers, state and local government officials and other employees, a visionary who has the ability to see what the future will bring and ensuring the school system is prepared for it.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Being the School Board Member that led the efforts to have the Glynn County School System into the top 10% in Georgia.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. I was 8 years old at the time, but remember it vividly.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked on a survey crew when I was 16 and did this for the better part of two years.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

That’s Life by Frank Sinatra

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I am too trusting of people at times. I’ve learned this the hard way. So now I am a little more deliberate when dealing with people.

What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?

Advocating for Public Education, Serving as a liaison between the schools and the general public, setting goals and monitoring progress, communication of accomplishments to the general public

Who are your constituents?

The citizens of Glynn County on a general basis and the students, teachers, parents and employees of the school board more specifically

How would you support the diverse needs of your district’s students, faculty, staff, and community?

As one with over 40 years of experience in Human Resources, I can help with recruitment and training.

How will you build relationships with members of the broader community? Which groups, organizations, stakeholders will you specifically target?

Employers in the area who need specific skills that are not being provided; trade and technical schools

What constitutes good teaching? How will you measure this? How will you support advanced teaching approaches?

We currently use standardized tests which is the tool we have at this point in time. I’m not a fan of teaching to a test. We have to teach to enhance knowledge of subject matters that allow students to apply this knowledge when taking the tests.

In what areas would you like to expand curriculum? For example, do you see a need for advanced technical training or apprenticeships? What sort of innovative programming would you advance if given the opportunity?

Technical and apprenticeship training is already in place to a limited degree. It’s been successful so far and needs to be expanded.

What strategies or plans would you advance to ensure the schools are properly funded?

Not sure yet. I have not yet served on the school board. In the past, I have made several recommendations for cost savings while serving on non profit boards. Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior.

What principles drive your policies for safety in schools?

Freedom to speak and the requirement of students to report threats of fellow students. Most of the school shootings were committed by students who communicated their intent prior to the incident. If students who knew about the potential threat spoke up beforehand, an intervention could have been conducted to stop the violence before it occurred.

Security guards or police officers assigned to every school.

How might you support the mental health needs of students/faculty/staff?

The first thing is to eliminate the stigma of mental health problems. Continual communication to all stakeholders of the school system can help.

We have counselors in the school system and an Employee Assistance Program that can help as well. We also need to increase support for LGBTQ students in high schools.

What existing district policies would you like to change, or what new policies would you like to implement?

I believe we need to be more diligent to stop bullying and also look at the way we discipline students.

Describe your ideal learning environment for students.

It has to be a comfortable environment. Students need to be free of bullying and harassment. Struggling students may need additional help which should be initiated by teachers.

How do you feel like your school district handled the coronavirus pandemic? What, if anything, would you do differently in the future?

Decisions are made based on the best information available at the time the decision is made. Closing of the schools and using web based classes was implemented due to the information available at that time and I support that decision.

In hindsight, we may have done things differently. We need to heed the recommendations of health care experts and seek their advice.

What will you do to build a relationship with parents in the district?

Have periodic focus group meetings to determine what can be done better. Bi-monthly newsletters to be sent via e-mail.

What are your preferred strategies for faculty, staff, and administration recruitment?

Recruitment strategies must change continuously. There are job boards specific to teachers and others specific to staff recruitment. Contacting the placement offices of various colleges and universities is also an excellent to recruit new teachers. To ensure we reach out to minorities, utilizing HBCU’s is very helpful.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

The taxpayers fund most of the school system’s expenses. Therefore, we should be very transparent on the funding and allow any taxpayer to view the budget versus actual expenses.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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