Rick Perry appointee and Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott described the process involving the curriculum changes under consideration by the SBOE as "payback" while testifying at a hearing at the Texas State Capitol.
The Mexican American Legislative Caucus is in the middle of a six-hour hearing at the Capitol about the controversial curriculum changes the State Board of Education (SBOE) is considering to implement. The SBOE curriculum controversy has made national news for weeks now -- from the Newsweek piece, "The Texas Curriculum Massacre" to a series of editorials across the state as early as January of this year, as documented by the Texas Freedom Network.
The first person to testify during the hearing was Robert Scott, Texas Education Commissioner. During his testimony, questions were raised about the curriculum process and why certain decisions were made. Scott responded to the questions by justifying the SBOE's controversial changes as "payback."
I transcribed the key part from his testimony -- video archive will be available after the hearing:
“One of the things, I think, that has been a problem in all of our deliberations regarding – whether it’s education or anything else – is that when you push out a particular group, and say we don’t care about you, when you push out, regardless of who that is, over time that creates a problem. And when the pendulum swings back, you know, there’s – whether you call it payback or a shifting in the alignment – I think that we need to be mindful as we deliberate to try to prevent the pushing out of any group, regardless of who they are. And that’s what I think this process needs to be about.”
Scott's remarks are disgusting. Unequivocally disgusting.
Rick Perry's appointee, Robert Scott, has admitted the true purpose of the outrageous changes conservatives on the SBOE are considering: this is about political payback and placating the extreme wing of Republican Party of Texas. Scott is essentially saying that political payback is a justifiable reason for allowing a political agenda to determine what is being taught in our children's classrooms.
People across the country should be outraged at these ridiculous remarks. We need to elect new SBOE members who will put our kids above any political agenda. To help that right now, please donate to the following SBOE candidates who are working hard to put our kids first.
The State Board of Education (SBOE) does not want to face the public, especially not the SBOE Chairwoman, Gail Lowe. Here's what happened:
The Mexican American Legislative Caucus, the Legislative Study Group, the House Black Caucus, and Senate Hispanic Caucus invited numerous SBOE and education officials to a hearing
SBOE Chairwoman Gail Lowe declined, saying she couldn't afford to make the trip
MALC made transportation arrangements, housing arrangements, and were going to pay for Lowe's gas to attend the short trip from Lampasas to Austin -- a commute that is hardly beyond the realm of possibility.
Lowe still refused to attend.
From the press release I received from MALC:
Initially citing the fact that her position as SBOE Chair was unpaid, Lowe declined to make the short trip from Lampasas to Austin. Even after receiving notification that MALC had made arrangements for a hotel, mileage reimbursement and per diem for meals; Lowe declined again— this time claiming a work commitment.
"To be turned down by Chairwoman Lowe is surprising and disappointing. I urge her to realize that over fifty members of the legislature are requesting her attendance at this very important hearing. We all have hectic lives and busy schedules, but she needs to make the time " said MALC Chairman Trey Martinez Fischer.
The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, April 28 from 9am-3pm at the Capitol Extension E2.012
Cynthia Dunbar, another Republican on the SBOE, is under fire from the Texas Freedom Network for additionally controversial remarks she made over the weekend. From a post on the TFN Insider blog titled, "Dunbar Takes New Trip on Extremism Train":
Speaking last week on a far-right talk show, The American View, (read more about the show here) Dunbar — a Richmond Republican representing a state board district that stretches from west of Houston to Austin — attacked public education and even the religious faith of people who don’t agree with her. She also repeated her infamous attack on President Obama as a terrorist sympathizer. And as the state board prepares to take a final vote next month on social studies curriculum standards for public schools, Dunbar suggested that supporters of separation of church and state don’t understand the Constitution and that the drafters of the First Amendment had no concerns “whatsoever” for the nonreligious.
State Rep. Mike Villarreal is one of numerous legislators and groups urging Texans to take action and speak up about the State Board of Education. Sign a petition he has here.
To celebrate our 15th year, the Texas Freedom Network is bringing Arianna Huffington to Austin for a very special evening. One of the most influential women in the media, Huffington will share her unique insights on the current political climate, as well as the far-reaching effects of the resurgence of extremism - including the damage done by the far-right faction of the Texas State Board of Education. The event will take place on Monday, May 3rd at 7 p.m at Congregation Agudas Achim (Dell Jewish Community Campus) located at 7300 Hart Lane Austin, Texas 78731. Tickets cost $25 and are available at www.tfn.org. Seating is limited, so it is recommended you buy your tickets today.
I'm exactly the kind of person who should have known about what's been developing at the Texas State Board of Education regarding textbook curriculum.
I'm a product of the public schools of Texas, I have two children in public schools and another who recently graduated from a public high school, and I'm politically active. Yet, like many of my fellow Texans, I just haven't paid close enough attention to what many would consider to be a not-so-glamorous elected panel.
So thanks to Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and just about every other working comedian, I am now more than just aware of the ludicrous actions regarding textbook selections being undertaken by the SBOE; I'm fired up.
At first I thought I was seeing yet another round of the ongoing racism we still haven't completely evolved from in our great state, but I quickly came to realize the SBOE actions go way beyond racism. Their plans are much more pervasive and actually affect school children all over the country.
In short, members of the SBOE are systematically engaging in an extreme ideological agenda in an effort to skew history, science, literature, and any other area of study they can come across, to fit their own narrow views and beliefs. I would call it Orwellian, but that would be an insult to George Orwell. And the SBOE would probably try to ban his books from Texas public schools if they haven't already thought of it.
Members of the SBOE are free to believe anything they want, but when they start forcing their beliefs on the rest of us using the very textbooks my children and many of your children (or nephews, nieces, cousins, friends...) are being taught from, then they've crossed the line. So we have to stop these school yard bullies!
Thankfully, State Representative Richard Peña Raymond has started the Thomas Jefferson Movement to stop the SBOE from succeeding with their agenda. http://thomasjeffersonmovement...
The online organization, named for just one of the many great Americans who are being historically revised by the SBOE, has been formed to educate, inform and mobilize the vast majority of Texans who disagree with the current SBOE members' radical views.
Additionally, the Thomas Jefferson Movement, in the spirit of Jefferson himself, will be a forum for open, honest discourse on the subject. The site is built on a Ning platform and allows for anyone who doesn't cross the line into hate speech and extreme profanity to express their points of view for or against the SBOE. But make no mistake, the creators of the site do not agree with the current majority on the SBOE. Neither do the majority of Texans.
State Board of Education District 5 incumbent Ken Mercer is running for re-election. In the Republican Primary debate held last week Mr. Mercer repeatedly claimed that students are not allowed to raise their hands and ask questions in science class. His opponent Mr. Tuggey suggested that, if that's really happening then it's a local issue which should be handled by the administration in that district, not micro-managed by the heavy hand of the SBOE. That's a great way to look at the purported problem, but what Mr. Tuggey failed to note is that many of Mr. Mercer's claims are ginned up to provide red meat to his most rabid supporters and I'm betting this one is too.
Ken Mercer also claimed that while the curriculum writing teams are required by law to involve participation of teachers, parents and business people; only teachers were involved. For this to be true none of the 102 team members must have any children, I find that highly improbable.
Mr. Mercer claims that conservative historians in classrooms were shut out of the process. Given that Republicans hold a 2 to 1 advantage on the board and appointed 67 of the 102 team members that is an absurd assertion. Can he seriously believe that not a single conservative was named to the teams with kind of majority? But wait, if he's so concerned about the lack of conservatives, parents and business people why didn't he bother to nominate even a single person to the teams?
Although the governor's race is getting most of voters' attention, voters will also choose representatives for District 10* of the State Board of Education (SBOE) in the March 2 primary.
Poorly understood and often overlooked, the SBOE has great influence over public education in Texas. It decides the curriculum standards that determine what teachers are to teach and what students should learn. It adopts and licenses textbooks for use in Texas public schools. It also determines passing scores for the TAKS test, approves creation of charter schools, and oversees the investment of the billions of dollars in the Permanent School Fund.
The board has long been a "culture war" battleground, but in recent years battles over divisive social issues have increasingly dominated the board's work. Contentious issues have included creationism vs. evolution in science classes, abstinence-only vs. abstinence-plus sex education classes, downplaying the contributions of minorities, women, different cultures in history, and blurring the line separating religion and government.
Instead of working for excellence in education for our children, some representatives have spurned the advice of the experts they appointed, many of whom have worked for over a year on their charge. In place of the experts' advice, some have imposed their personal opinions, often based on religious conviction and not facts, on Texas' public school students. The education of our children should not be a partisan matter. This ill-serves our children.
The reason we are often poorly represented and poorly served on the SBOE is that candidates often run unopposed and voter turnout is low. The upcoming election is already proving to be different! There are 6 candidates for District 10 SBOE election! They are Democrat Judy Jennings; Republicans Marsha Farney, Rebecca Osborne, and Brian Russell; Libertarian Jessica Dressen and Green Party candidate J.D. Porter. I urge all District 10 voters, no matter what your party affiliation, to come to the candidates forum sponsored by the Bastrop PTA Council, on Thursday February 18th at 6:30 PM in the Bastrop High School Cafeteria. Come and ask questions of the District 10 candidates. Read their literature! Then go vote! One of them will represent you. Early voting for the primary is February 16-28, Primary Election day is March 2, early voting for the General Election is October 18-29, and General Election day is November 2. Texas children are counting on you!
*State Board of Education District 10 includes the part of Travis County north of the river, parts of Brazoria and Fort Bend Counties, and the counties of Austin, Bastrop, Burleson, Colorado, DeWitt, Fayette, Gonzales, Lavaca, Lee, Milam, Waller, Washington, and Williamson.
Joanne Richards
Education First SBOE-10
educationfirstsboe10.org
Lately, I've liked telling people that Democrats have a very good chance to make important gains in all levels of state government, from the Governor's Mansion to the State Board of Education.
With the SBOE, there are really only one or two districts where Democrats can reasonably hope to take away from Republicans, but the story on that board is not so much Democrats vs. Republicans. In the SBOE, somehow, one major group is of crazy conservatives who want to isolate Texas into a Christian and potentially unproductive box. The other group: rational people, both Democrats and Republicans, who want to ensure that Texas children are prepared to compete in the global economy.
There are four important seats where that way-too-extreme social conservatism is being fought tooth-and-nail. One is SBOE 3, where Democrat Rick Agosto has embarrassingly been a swing vote with the crazies. He's been pushed to not running for reelection, and Michael Soto is expected to take his place and do well.
The other important races are in districts 5, 9, and 10. The Texas Freedom Network did a nice roundup of SBOE fundraising, so let's take a look at these three districts.
SBOE District 5
This district stretches from Bexar County to southern Travis County and includes the Hill Country.
Republican Primary
Ken Mercer (I): $8,035.00 in contributions, in $3,639.05 cash on hand
Tim Tuggey: $60,330.58 in contributions, in $24,945.65 cash on hand
Democratic Primary
Rebecca Bell-Metereau: $17,797 in contributions, in $6,414.44 cash on hand
Robert Bohmfalk: no report available yet
Daniel Boone: $4,176.72 in contributions, in $3,457.72 cash on hand
Josiah Ingalls: $350 in contributions, in $36.15 cash on hand
There are a lot of Democrats who think that Rebecca Bell-Metereau has a decent shot, and she is certainly leading the other Democrats in fundraising as well as social conservative incumbent Ken Mercer.
But the real challenge to Mercer might be in his own party. Tim Tuggey is absolutely dominating the money race. He's spent more than half what he has received, but he still has about 3 times more on hand than Mercer has raised at all. If his spending is wise, we'll see Mercer knocked off in March.
District 9
This largely East-Central Texas district stretches from Plano to Bryan-College Station.
Don McLeroy (I): $1,200 in contributions, $611.33 in cash on hand
Thomas Ratliff: $15,173.20 in contributions, $8,098.50 in cash on hand
District 9 is a definitely Republican district, which could hurt Ratliff. But he still is significantly leading McLeroy, and he has his father's name. Don McLeroy is possibly the most dangerous member of the State Board of Education. So, go Thomas Ratliff!
District 10
This district stretches from Williamson and northern Travis County to just west of Houston. Republican incumbent Cynthia Dunbar is not running for re-election.
Republican Primary
Marsha Farney: no contributions, no cash on hand
Rebecca Osborne: $5,416.00 in contributions, $5,515.09 in cash on hand
Brian Russell: $8,229.40 in contributions, $7,455 in cash on hand
Democrat
Judy Jennings: $15,900 in contributions, $14,072.31 in cash on hand
Cynthia Dunbar, as you probably know, is in that McLeroy-level of dangerousness. Thankfully, she's not running. But her hand-picked successor, Brian Russell, is probably just as bad. He's leading the Republican money race, but Rebecca Osborne has been campaigning longer.
Thankfully, Judy Jennings beats both of us. District 10 contains about half of Travis County, and it is also the absolutely best chance for a Democrat to take a seat that a Republican has held. This is a clear toss-up seat, so seeing Jennings' lead is a surely comforting sign.
(From a candidate for SBOE 3. - promoted by Matt Glazer)
Perhaps because I grew up an awkwardly lanky Little League pitcher, one of my childhood heroes was J.R. Richard, the improbably tall Houston Astros ace who was close to unhittable during his prime. Nothing could convince me to trade my J.R. Richard baseball card.
Not a championship season Willie Stargell card.
Not a mint condition Pete Rose rookie card.
Not even an autographed Roger Staubach card. (The Cowboys legend was another hero, so mixing baseball with football doesn't tarnish my logic too much.)
Would I part with J.R. Richard for Stargell, Rose, and Staubach? It's just a card, right?
Wrong.
Anyone who grew up loving baseball knows that a card isn't just a card. And what's true of recent sports history is truer still of America's intricate and splendid past.
The ongoing debate surrounding social studies standards in Texas public schools too often sounds like an unfunny parody of baseball card trading done by bratty kids who never really played the game.
The good news: Apparently, super right wing radical Cynthia Dunbar will not run for reelection in 2010 to the State Board of Education's 10th District. This is great news for Texas, as well as for those in Austin and elsewhere who live in the district. She only disrupts and distracts from potential progress in education.
The bad news: Ms. Dunbar plans to pick her successor.
APPEARS DUNBAR WILL NOT SEEK RE-ELECTION TO SBOE
SREC member Brian Russell says she recruited him to run for her open seat.
Republican Cynthia Dunbar, a lightning rod for controversy on the State Board of Education for her ultra-conservative views, appears to have told supporters she will not run for a second term on the board and likely will be replaced on the ballot by Austin intellectual property attorney Brian Russell, who currently serves on the State Republican Executive Committee.
Another clue she may not be running: Her website, cynthiadunbar.com, brings you to a pretty looking website that mentions the State Board of Education relatively little. Completely ignored is cynthiadunbar.com/index.htm, which directs you to a campaign site as of this posting.
He may not be quite as virally appalling as Ms. Dunbar or her colleague Don McLeroy, but Brian Russell is also a Christian Conservative that would put politics before education.
As Austin's member on the State Republican Executive Committee, he signed a letter about the 2009 Speakers race. The letter implied that the Anybody-but-Craddick Republicans were "working against their own Party."
He is the Austin contact and "Volunteer" with the Texas Eagle Forum. If you don't remember, this is the far-right conservative organization from where Cathie Adams hailed.
Hopefully, the Republican primary voters will pass on Mr. Russell. The party has a reasonable looking candidate in Rebecca Osborne. Unfortunately, she no longer has Cynthia Dunbar's absolutely repugnant record to fight against. And Republican primaries tend to favor the more conservative.
That also means that the Democratic candidate also won't be able to fight against such repulsiveness. With Lorenzo Sadun stepping aside, now could be a prime opportunity to help Judy Jennings. She's currently the only Democratic candidate for the SBOE 10 seat, which is the only seat Democrats can reasonably hope to gain in 2010 . Right now, it looks like we'll need our candidate to be strong. We need a candidate that will win over Texans in the fight for truly better schools.
Update: We still do not have direct confirmation that Dunbar will step aside, but the Statesman has it that, in an email, she said a statement would be released later. They also hear from other SBOE member David Bradley that she will not be returning.
Update by Matt: This statement just came in from Texas Freedom Network President Kathy Miller:
"If this report is accurate, then it appears that Cynthia Dunbar realized her extremist track record made her a damaged brand in next year's election. But the only difference between her and Russell is she wrote a book savaging public education and he hasn't done that yet. Nobody should be fooled here. He holds the same anti-science and extremist views that Dunbar does, which is why she recruited him to run for her seat."
In her 2008 book, One Nation Under God, Dunbar called public education a "subtle tool of perversion," "tyrannical" and unconstitutional. During the 2008 president election, Dunbar attacked then-candidate Barack Obama as a Marxist and a terrorist sympathizer who wanted another attack on America so that he could declare martial law and throw out the Constitution. Dunbar has also been a leader of efforts by the State Board of Education's far-right faction to politicize our children's social studies classrooms and to promote creationist arguments against evolution in science classrooms.
In March of this year Russell successfully persuaded the State Republican Executive Committee to pass a resolution demanding that all Republican state board members obey the Texas GOP platform by supporting creationist arguments against evolution in new public school science curriculum standards. He also has served as treasurer of Legacy PAC, a Christian-right political action committee. In 2004 he served on a committee that drafted the Texas Republican Party platform, which called separation of church and state a "myth," demanded that public schools teach "intelligent design"/creationism in science classrooms and opposed including medically accurate information on contraception and disease prevention in sex education classes.
Education First, a non-partisan, informal organization of voters from State Board of Education District 10, which includes Fort Bend, Brazoria, Austin, Williamson, Bastrop and North Travis counties (among a number of others) has launched a website and blog.
The website EducationFirstSBOE10.org is geared to advancing the groups goals of raising voter awareness and interest in the State Board of Education, in particular the SBOE district 10 election of 2010.
