Texas School Boards - slam the State Board of Education (Leroy: school districts, cost)

[ocean2026]

At this weekend's Texas Association of School Board's Convention 75.3% of the 1050 state school board delegates voting, voted to direct the State Board of Education by name, to take politics out of the curriculum process.

I introduced the resolution and the floor debate was fun. TASB's own board was against naming them - so it was a fun battle. A video clip should be available eventually.

The media such as the NY Times which was quick to point out how redneck Texas was when the State Board of Education made the curriculum changes, does not seem to want to report this. JIm McKinley of the Times wrote me when we started but is silent now, as is Greg Poppo from USA Today.

Its more fun depicting Texas as backward- makes those up north feel better I guess.

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by ocean2026

At this weekend's Texas Association of School Board's Convention 75.3% of the 1050 state school board delegates voting, voted to direct the State Board of Education by name, to take politics out of the curriculum process.

I introduced the resolution and the floor debate was fun. TASB's own board was against naming them - so it was a fun battle. A video clip should be available eventually.

The media such as the NY Times which was quick to point out how redneck Texas was when the State Board of Education made the curriculum changes, does not seem to want to report this. JIm McKinley of the Times wrote me when we started but is silent now, as is Greg Poppo from USA Today.

Its more fun depicting Texas as backward- makes those up north feel better I guess.

Making fun of Texas is a sport for many. Just like it is for California.

The BOE is an embarrassment. Fortunately, they don't impact what happens in the classroom nearly as much as people fear.

[TXNGL]

Originally Posted by ocean2026

At this weekend's Texas Association of School Board's Convention 75.3% of the 1050 state school board delegates voting, voted to direct the State Board of Education by name, to take politics out of the curriculum process.

I introduced the resolution and the floor debate was fun. TASB's own board was against naming them - so it was a fun battle. A video clip should be available eventually.

The media such as the NY Times which was quick to point out how redneck Texas was when the State Board of Education made the curriculum changes, does not seem to want to report this. JIm McKinley of the Times wrote me when we started but is silent now, as is Greg Poppo from USA Today.

Its more fun depicting Texas as backward- makes those up north feel better I guess.

I know. It's frustrating. A while back with the textbook debate, I quit a Facebook group devoted to the issue because so many posters kept coloring all Texans as ignorant rednecks. I just couldn't read anymore BS.

[Sandstorm214]

Originally Posted by ocean2026

At this weekend's Texas Association of School Board's Convention 75.3% of the 1050 state school board delegates voting, voted to direct the State Board of Education by name, to take politics out of the curriculum process.

I introduced the resolution and the floor debate was fun. TASB's own board was against naming them - so it was a fun battle. A video clip should be available eventually.

The media such as the NY Times which was quick to point out how redneck Texas was when the State Board of Education made the curriculum changes, does not seem to want to report this. JIm McKinley of the Times wrote me when we started but is silent now, as is Greg Poppo from USA Today.

Its more fun depicting Texas as backward- makes those up north feel better I guess.

Thank you for the role you played in this! I'm only sorry that nearly a quarter of the delegates didn't agree with your position. Polling I've seen show that the majority of Texans do not agree with what the SBOE is doing, but that's hardly ever reported either. Also rarely mentioned is the fact that the head nut of that nut house, Don McLeroy, was voted out of office in the Republican primary by a moderate and two of the others who side with the extreme right will also not be returning in January. I guess that doesn't make the story quite as fun for the national media. I'll be glad when I'm not hearing any news stories about our SBOE again.

[ocean2026]

Jim McKinley of the NY Times did write me back and said he's considering a story. If you agree that he should let people know that Texas has some education minded people who place kids over politics and maybe even if you have a quote- let him know Jim Mckinley mckinley@nytimes.com

[stan4]

I contacted my representative right after that whole textbook thing was making news and she said it was a bunch of hooey and that schools have a lot of control of their curriculum at the local level.

[ocean2026]

Stan let me answer you specifically. Local Texas School Boards Do have the final say in what textbooks the school uses, but here's the catch. If we don't use the ones that the SBOE has on its approved list we have to pay for them ourselves.

There will already be an $18 Billion State Deficit this year (Perry is not being honest about it) and about 650 of the 1050 Texas School Districts already ventured into their reserve funds last year.g Books for a full set of classes could easily cost $350 per student. Technically you are correct, but in practical reality -NO

[jazznblues]

Even if the school has no choice but to use an offensive textbook - that doesn't mean that is all the teacher teaches to. The teachers I know (of my children) use the textbooks to frame the course, but usually include additional material into class.

[Bo]

Originally Posted by jazznblues

Even if the school has no choice but to use an offensive textbook - that doesn't mean that is all the teacher teaches to. The teachers I know (of my children) use the textbooks to frame the course, but usually include additional material into class.

I've seen this, too. My kids often say at the end of the year that they've never even had to open some of those huge textbooks. They're getting what they need to excel without the books, but it rankles me as a taxpayer that our district bought books that are going unused in the first place.

[ocean2026]

The books come out of the permanent reserve fund- not the regular budget. They have billions in there because its funded by oil and gas. Of course if the State Board of Education wants to change books all the time because of political reasons -we could run out of funds.