Marsha Burnett-Webster

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Marsha Burnett-Webster

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Prairie View A & M University, 1977

Personal

Birthplace

Brenham, Texas

Profession

Retired teacher/school administrator

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Marsha Burnett-Webster (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Texas State Board of Education to represent District 10. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

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

Biography

Marsha Burnett-Webster was born in Brenham, Texas. She earned a bachelor's degree from Prairie View A&M University in 1977 and pursued her graduate education at Prairie View A&M and California Coast Universities. Burnett-Webster's career experience includes working as a teacher, assistant principal, and college administrator.

Elections

2020

See also: Texas State Board of Education election, 2020

General election

General election for Texas State Board of Education District 10

Incumbent Tom Maynard defeated Marsha Burnett-Webster and Trip Seibold in the general election for Texas State Board of Education District 10 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tom Maynard (R)	50.8	441,700
		Marsha Burnett-Webster (D)	45.9	398,453
		Trip Seibold (L)	3.3	28,603

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 868,756
= 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 10

Marsha Burnett-Webster defeated Stephen Wyman in the Democratic primary for Texas State Board of Education District 10 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Marsha Burnett-Webster	84.5	133,862
		Stephen Wyman	15.5	24,549

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 158,411
= 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 10

Incumbent Tom Maynard advanced from the Republican primary for Texas State Board of Education District 10 on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tom Maynard	100.0	134,760

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 134,760
= 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.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Texas State Board of Education District 10

Trip Seibold advanced from the Libertarian convention for Texas State Board of Education District 10 on March 21, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Trip Seibold (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= 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

Marsha Burnett-Webster completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Burnett-Webster'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.

I am a native Texan. I grew up in Brenham, a small town in Washington County - the birthplace of Texas, the birthplace of Blinn College, and the birthplace of Blue Bell ice cream. My mother worked as a nurse; my father served in the military and then as a bartender. As for me, I am a retired teacher, high school assistant principal, and college administrator. During my formative years in segregated schools, my parents, teachers, and principal reinforced in me that failure was not, and never is, an option. After integration and in high school I (and other like me) had to 'fight' for equal access - in academics and in extracurricular activities. The same was true to a large extent in college, albeit from a male-dominated field perspective. I then married a career military officer, and encountered many of the same stereotypes during our frequent military moves. I had to contend with other's mentality that I did not need a job (my husband made enough money), that a less qualified man needed the job more than I did (as an industrial arts or drafting teacher), or that I would not be around long enough (to serve as a school administrator). All of that goes into who I am today. And all of that is what I want our children, especially girls, to know - that they will continually face adversity in life, but that they can overcome these stumbling blocks. Education is the key. Perseverance is a necessity. But above all, belief in oneself is critical.

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?

• Curriculum Standards. Ensure our educational standards are aligned with college and work expectations; are clear, understandable, and consistent; and include rigorous application of knowledge through critical thinking.
• Student Testing & School Accountability Ratings. Schools are not businesses and they must not be expected to operate as such. Focus standardized testing on student needs and not on promotion or graduation requirements.
• Charter Schools/Vouchers. If charter schools receive any public funding (which I oppose), then they must adhere to the same standards as public schools.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Public Schools Are Our First Priority! I have seen what happens when we give our students the best we have to offer - they succeed! And I have seen what happens when we neglect their needs, educational and otherwise - we all fail. Our students deserve our best, and that is what I want us to give them. The State Board of Education sets the standards for students' success and I want to ensure that we are using the right metrics to help them be successful in life.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

The Texas Constitution directs the 'state' to provide for the public education of students. Legislators focus on this issue, but not enough; they have too many other issues to content with. The State Board of Education is the sole body responsible for looking out for public schools and public education. I want to ensure that it lives up to its responsibility.

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

I never give up, on myself nor students.

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

Given its charter to oversee the public education of Texas students, SBOE members must first believe in public schools and have a willingness to make public education better. Too often I see members (and others) whose first priority seems to be to denigrate public schools by diverting taxpayer funds away from public education into charter schools and private schools though vouchers and tax credits, schools which do not have to meet the same standards as public schools. Those actions destroy public schools and fracture our communities.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Becoming by Michele Obama. It is very inspirational, especially for girls and young women.

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

When I view the SBOE responsibilities, my priorities would focus on developing curricula that are predicated on proven, fact-based methodologies. I would push for increased and enhanced STEM offerings, while at the same time reviving fledging but much needed vocational and industrial arts programs. I would work to ensure that the arts and humanities programs receive greater emphasis than they now receive. I would lead and support efforts to reduce the reliance on and use of standardized testing for graduation purposes, but instead return its use to that of a diagnostic tool for developing different learning strategies. I would champion a teacher and school evaluation system that focuses on the resources and abilities available to them, and not on actions beyond their control (e.g., how well students perform on standardized tests). I would propose limits on classroom size to maximize student learning opportunities. These are just a few of the things I would prioritize, if elected.

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

No

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

Ideally, a SBOE member should be a former teacher and school administrator. It develops policies and standards that directly affects students and their future success, and I believe teachers and school administrators understand this best (not including parents).

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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