2 in GOP vie to keep education panel seats
Challenger says Trump may hurt down-ballot Republicans.
Two Republican members of the State Board of Education representing Central Texas are seeking re-election this fall, hoping to avoid any ill effect that Donald Trump’s presence on the ballot might have on down-ballot Republicans.
GOP incumbent Tom Maynard of Florence faces Democrat Judy Jennings in District 10, which includes northern Travis, Williamson, Bastrop and Burnet counties.
Republican incumbent Ken Mercer of San Antonio is running against Democrat Rebecca Bell-Metereau and Libertarian Ricardo Perkins in District 5, which includes southern Travis, Hays and Caldwell counties, among others.
Bell-Metereau and Jennings have run twice before and lost.
Bell-Metereau believes Trump’s polarizing rhetoric will drive more Democrats to the polls, putting the odds in her and Jennings’ favor this year.
Mercer and Maynard aren’t so sure. They said that their record of building relationships with the state’s education community and their experience on the board make them better choices.
In addition to overseeing part of the $30 billion Permanent School Fund, the board — currently made up of 10 Republicans and five Democrats — adopts textbook and curriculum requirements that dictate what students learn in Texas public schools. Members serve four-year terms.
Some have criticized the board in the past for making decisions, particularly related to how history and science is taught, that align with their political views. In 2015, scholars and advocacy groups accused the board of adopting curriculum requirements that downplayed the role of slavery in causing the Civil War.