With all her children grown and out of the house, Lurline Fishburne said she wanted to turn her attention to helping other children succeed.

"I'm an empty-nester. I've got the time, and hopefully, I can make a difference," she said.

The 54-year-old former teacher will become the Charleston County School Board's newest member as soon as Gov. Mark Sanford makes her appointment official.

The Charleston County legislative delegation chose Fishburne last week over 13 other applicants vying to fill the seat left vacant by the Jan. 4 death of Hugh Cannon, who had been re-elected in November. By law, Sanford must accept the delegation's choice, but his office still needs to receive her application and do a background check.

Fishburne, who survived breast cancer five years ago, said the timing seemed right for her to apply.

"I'm healthy and energetic," she said. "I'm ready for another part of my life."

Republican state Rep. John Graham Altman, chairman of the delegation's education committee, said the Republicans backed Fishburne because "she's a thoroughbred, a lady of great quality."

"We're lucky to get a person like Mrs. Fishburne," he said. "She's a serious person, and when she speaks, I think people will listen."

The vote to appoint Fishburne, the wife of Republican City Council member Henry Fishburne, split largely along party lines.

All Republicans voted for Fishburne and all but one Democrat backed Thuane Fielding, a black candidate.

Some people contend that politics and race determined the appointment, but Fishburne said she doesn't let the controversy bother her.

"I like to think they picked the best person for the job," she said.

Fishburne said her main concerns are expanding early education and increasing parental involvement and vocational training.

"The environment children are in from birth to 6 sets the tone for what happens in first grade," said Fishburne, who last taught 18-month-old children at Addlestone Hebrew Academy.

Henry Fishburne said his wife's training in early education will be an asset to the school board. "Early education is the key to making the whole system better," he said.

Lurline Fishburne also wants to restore respect for teachers, who she said are unfairly blamed for poor student performance.

"We need to get back to respect and dignity and appreciation for the teacher," she said. "We need to support them 100 percent. ... Education is not a one-way street."

Parents, she said, ultimately are responsible for their children's success.

"I don't understand people who don't take responsibility for their children. Parenthood is a privilege. It's not a God-given right," she said. "How one gets parents involved, I don't know. But children are left behind, and it's not the teacher's fault."

The Fishburnes describe themselves as fiscal conservatives.

Lurline Fishburne joins the school board during the budget season for next school year. During a recent budget workshop, district officials proposed a slew of reforms meant to increase student performance. They offered no price tag but warned the plans are expensive.

Fishburne said increasing the district's budget won't solve poor performance. "Money is not the only solution," she said. "But I will be open-minded."

The Fishburnes' three children attended private schools. The oldest graduated from Asheville School, a boarding school in North Carolina, and the two younger ones graduated from Porter Gaud, Henry Fishburne's alma mater.

"We didn't think the public schools were best for our children," Lurline Fishburne said. "Our goal was to provide them an excellent education."

Many public schools in peninsular Charleston scored "below average" or "unsatisfactory" on their state report cards.

Henry Fishburne said they also wanted their children to receive a religious education. Porter Gaud has ties to the Episcopal Church, which they attend.

The couple hope their children eventually return to Charleston and feel confident enough in the public schools to send their grandchildren there. Lurline Fishburne, who plans to start her new job by touring peninsular Charleston public schools, wants to play her part in improving them.

When all of Charleston's public schools succeed, Henry Fishburne said, the county's other problems, social and economic, will start to disappear.

"I'm proud of Lurline. She really wants to help," he said. "We're not naive. Neither one of us can change things overnight. But we can try."

Lurline Fishburne's appointment will last until November 2006. If she wants to finish the remaining two years of Cannon's term, she'll have to run for election. That decision, she said, will depend on whether she feels she's making a difference.

LURLINE FISHBURNE

Age: 54

Residence: 53 S. Battery St., Charleston

Family: Husband Henry Fishburne, three grown children.

Education: Attended public schools in Marion County; 1968 graduate of Ashley Hall; 1972 graduate of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor's degree in education.

Occupation: Homemaker and assistant in her husband's office.

Experience: Taught 18-month-old children in Addlestone Hebrew Academy's early childhood program, 1995-99; second-grade teacher at Ashley Hall, 1976-79; first-grade teacher at Greensboro Day School in Greensboro, N.C., 1975-76; first-grade teacher at Stokesdale Elementary School in Greensboro, N.C., 1974-75; third-grade teacher at Midland Park Elementary in North Charleston, 1972-73.

Volunteer: Foster Care Review Board in Charleston, 1990-92; guardian ad litem, 1985-90; altar guild at St. Philip's Episcopal Church, 1995-2000; volunteered at Porter-Gaud School and Ashley Hall; worked on her husband's successful City Council and unsuccessful state Senate campaigns; docent for Nathaniel Russell House.