Maria Berry

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Maria Berry

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 3, 2020

Personal

Birthplace

Philadelphia, Pa.

Religion

Christian

Profession

Non-profit executive director

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Maria Berry (Republican Party) ran for election to the Texas State Board of Education to represent District 14. She lost in the Republican primary on March 3, 2020.

Berry completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Maria Berry was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She pursued her undergraduate education at Benedict College and her graduate education at Cambridge College and Northcentral University. Her career experience includes working as the executive director of a non-profit organization, an educator, and an at-risk specialist with a Texas school district.

Elections

2020

See also: Texas State Board of Education election, 2020

General election

General election for Texas State Board of Education District 14

Incumbent Sue Melton-Malone defeated Greg Alvord in the general election for Texas State Board of Education District 14 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sue Melton-Malone (R)	67.8	582,027
	Submit photo	Greg Alvord (D)	32.2	276,303

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 858,330
= 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.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas State Board of Education District 14

Greg Alvord advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas State Board of Education District 14 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Greg Alvord	100.0	81,833

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 81,833
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas State Board of Education District 14

Incumbent Sue Melton-Malone defeated Maria Berry in the Republican primary for Texas State Board of Education District 14 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sue Melton-Malone	61.1	108,389
		Maria Berry	38.9	69,048

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 177,437
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Maria Berry completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Berry's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Maria Berry is a former high school mathematics teacher who has also taught accounting and business with a focus on entrepreneurship.

Berry is an Executive Director of a local non-profit organization, is a Financial Literacy educator, and is an At-Risk Specialist with a Central Texas public school district.

Since arriving in Texas in 2007, Berry has worked for two public schools, served on advisory boards, and is an active community volunteer for the under-served population of Waco.

Berry holds a BS in mathematics and an M.Ed. in Math Education and is near completion of her Ph.D. in Instructional Design.

In her spare time, Berry enjoys crafting and traveling with her husband and children.

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?

• If elected to the TX SBOE I will work with the other Texas SBOE members to adopt traditional, fact-based, academic curriculum standards (TEKS) which, if mastered by students, will establish a strong foundation upon which they can reason logically and analytically.
• If elected to the TX SBOE I will do my best to see that every student in our Texas public schools (including charter schools) is given equal opportunities to achieve academic success.
• If elected to the TX SBOE I will make myself available to the constituents of my SBOE District (14) to help them with their questions and concerns.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am concerned about all areas of public policy. I would say that I am passionate about education, economic affairs, and culture and society.

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

Elected officials should have high moral standards, the ability to respect varying opinions, and understand that there should be a limit to the time they serve in that position. Elected officials need to be reminded that their job is to serve the people that elected them into their position.

What legacy would you like to leave?

When my term is done and I have left the position, I want people to know that I was passionate about giving our public school students every opportunity to learn fact-based, age-appropriate curriculum standards. And that they had the tools needed to be successful, productive, contributing citizens because of my passion to serve.

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

In 1986, I was in my school library watching the Challenger take off to write a report about space travel. As the small group of us sat at the table watching the entire event, I can remember how excited I was to be selected to go to the library to watch. I remember hearing the commentator explain a brief bio of each crew member as they entered the space shuttle. It seemed to go on forever. Finally, the shuttle took off. Barely over a minute later, it exploded. I believe I was in shock because I did not believe my eyes. I was on 13 years old, but I will never forget it. All I knew to do was to pray. That is how is continue to live my life. Even in negative situations, I turn to my faith.

What is your favorite book? Why?

One of my favorite books is Just Enough Light for the Step I'm On by Stormie Omartian because it spoke clearly to many journeys in my life.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

I have not given this question much thought in the past. Even now, I am not finding any one character that is pressing in my mind that I would want to be.

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

I am still singing "How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria" by Rodgers & Hammerstein ( I love watching old movies). Many of those songs are still ringing in my mind.

What responsibilities of this office do you personally consider the most important?

The writing of the curriculum standards for the students of our Texas public schools is the most important responsibility of this office.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

I do not believe that one needs to have previous experience in government or politics to hold a seat on the TX SBOE.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

I believe that it would be helpful to have critical thinking skills, classroom experience, in the public schools, and great communication skills would be a great asset for the seat holders at the TX SBOE.

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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