28-year Marin County Schools superintendent praised for pandemic leadership as she leaves office

Mary Jane Burke, who served 28 years as Marin County’s superintendent of schools, was praised this week as she left office, especially for her work during the pandemic to keep schools functioning, the Marin Independent Journal reported.

“Mary Jane Burke is an MVP in Marin’s pandemic response,” Dr. Matt Willis, the county’s public health officer, told the Independent Journal. He said his agency “couldn’t have hoped for a better partner.”

“Together, we were able to reopen schools soon after the lockdown, and do it safely,” he said.

Burke, 70, was first elected in 1995. Deputy Superintendent Ken Lippi told the newspaper that Burke’s partnership with public health officials during the pandemic is an extension of how she has forged relationships and collaborations throughout her seven terms in office.

“Because of that leadership, Marin’s schools, public and private, were among the very first in our state to open,” he said. “This was vitally important as we learn more about the very significant impacts of social isolation and learning loss on our children during the pandemic.”