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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
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