Candidates for Fort Worth area Texas State Board of Education, District 13 on Nov. 8 ballot
Kathryn Monette
Party: Republican
Age as of Nov. 8 , 2022: 65
Campaign Website: KathrynMonette.org
Occupation: Electronics Tech
Degree: EET Degree
Offices previously sought: City Council of Grand Prairie District 6
Highlights of civic involvement:
Election Judge, Alternate Judge, Clerk for 30+ years, Precinct chair 20+ years, Volunteered for various candidates, Volunteered with Keep Grand Prairie Beautiful
Top 3 campaign contributors: Arlington Republican Club, Dallas Star Republican Women and Steve Smith
What is the most important distinction between you and your opponent(s)?:
I don’t think LGBQT should be taught in school. That is an individual family decision. My opponent believes it should be taught starting in elementary grades. I believe that more of our core subjects should be taught in school so that our children can exceed when they graduate. Every hour spent on social and emotional learning is an hour not spent on reading, writing and math. I believe that children are sent to school to learn and expand their knowledge with academic content, not with propaganda and the social issues that parents may or may not agree with.
What are the three biggest issues in this race?
LGBQT being taught to school children instead of being left to the parents to discern when it is appropriate for their child.
Less social emotional learning and more core subjects like reading, writing and math being taught in school.
Parental rights and transparency for what materials are being taught in the classroom. At the last meeting for social studies, my opponents vote was to remove Texas History as a stand alone class, require all 8th graders in the state of Texas to learn and memorize 28 genders and expand LGBQT to all grades. There are porn books in our school libraries that she believes should be kept and I believe they need to be removed. I believe that our Texas history is important and 8th graders do not need to be forced to learn 28 genders.
Aicha Davis
Party: Democrat
Age as of Nov. 8 , 2022: 41
Campaign Website: AichaDavis.com
Occupation: Assistant Director at Dallas College
Degree: BS Biology and Chemistry, MEd Educational Leadership, PhD Education Policy and Leadership (ABD)
Offices previously sought: Yes, I ran for this seat and won in 2018
Highlights of civic involvement: Led passage of statewide African American Studies in second year, created paid summer internship for underrepresented college students to study multibillion dollar portfolios with the Texas Permanent School Fund, Root 100, Texas Coalition of Black Democrats 40 under 40, successfully amended science standards to add Black, Hispanic, and LGBT scientists, Instructor with Texas Education Policy Institute, developed federal policy priorities for the National Association of Black School Educators
Top 3 campaign contributors: 1. Texas AFT and Texas State Teachers Association 2. Mavis Knight (former Member) 3. Family and educators
What is the most important distinction between you and your opponent(s)?:
My opponent believes critical race theory exists in Texas public classrooms. I do not believe CRT exists in our standards or curriculum, nor have I seen evidence of such. I believe this misconception has been developed as schools seek to fully serve our diverse student population. This means inclusive curriculum that mirrors our diversity and addressing systematic policy hurdles at the school and district levels.
What are the three biggest issues in this race?
1. Protecting schools from political rhetoric meant to disrupt public education in Texas
2. Ensuring social studies is reviewed to increase diversity and truthfulness
3. Protecting tax payer dollars and community interests from charter school applicants with predatory interests
This story was originally published October 23, 2022 at 5:00 AM.