Weatherford incumbent besting challenger for education seat

Incumbent Pat Hardy of Weatherford was leading the Republican primary for the District 11 seat on the State Board of Education, according to unofficial, incomplete results Tuesday night.

Hardy had 59.2 percent of the votes, compared with 40.8 percent for Cleburne urologist Dr. Barney Maddox, with early voting and 304 of 572 precincts reporting.

There was no candidate in the Democratic primary. Bruce Beckman of Haslet is a Libertarian seeking the seat.

Maddox has called evolution "fairy tales." If he had been elected to the board, social conservatives would have had their first majority on the 15-member board. Of 10 Republicans, seven are considered social conservatives. The other five members are Democrats.

The board approves public school curriculum, textbooks and policies.

"This says that the word got out to the teachers," Hardy said Tuesday night. "I knew that my support would come from the teachers and the concerned parents. They don't want the education system taken over by people who don't know about education." Regarding evolution, Hardy has said that religious beliefs -- including creationism -- do not belong in the classroom.

Hardy, 59, spent 30 years teaching social studies at Castleberry High School and five years as a social studies coordinator for the Weatherford school district. She is currently coordinating core subject staff development for the Weatherford schools.

Hardy was first elected to the board in 2002. Members are elected for four-year terms. District 11 includes most of Tarrant County as well as Ellis, Johnson and Parker counties.