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Bio
E-mailHere's an update from an earlier post this week about the second most important race in Texas, the one involving State Board of Education incumbent Don McLeroy and his Republican challenger Thomas Ratliff.
Ratliff, as you may have seen, won that race. As a result, his triumph creates the potential for a tectonic shift in the board's politics. That will be a good thing for Texas students.
McLeroy, a Bryan dentist, was a ringleader of the socially conservative faction that questioned the study of evolution, went to war over reading comprehension standards, argued for students to learn more about conservatives than liberals in social studies and generally saw the board as a place to extend fights about the culture. The McLeroy faction also made some questionable calls in hiring firms to invest the state's school money.
McLeroy's exit means the dynamics of the board should shift. Instead of eight social conservatives battling the board's seven other members, some of whom are Republicans and some of whom are Democrats, the less ideological members should have the upper hand.
I say "should" because no one really knows how Republican George Clayton will shake out. He upset fellow Dallas Republican Tincy Miller, a longtime incumbent who was part of the moderate wing.
Clayton prides himself on being a voice for teachers, who he believes are
