Here are the Republicans running for State Board of Education District 11
Pat ‘Patricia’ Hardy
Age: 75
Campaign website: www.hardyforeducation.com
Best way for voters to reach you: The best way to contact me is via email pat.hardy.1109@gmail.com.
Occupation: Retired Educator
Education: BA /Howard Payne University; MS/University of North Texas
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought, with years): No, only for the SBOE
Please list the highlights of your civic involvement/activism: Serving on the State Board involves many hours every week throughout the year. For 10 years, I volunteered with Kids Hope where I mentored students one on one at George C. Clarke Elem in Fort Worth. Since Covid, we have provided a 5th Grade graduation lunch and party for Clarke students. For 25 years, I ran the State Finals for the National Geographic Geography Bee and judged numerous Local, Area, and Regional spelling bees affiliated with the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and History Contests for the Texas State Bar Education Program.
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding? If yes, please explain: No
Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding? If yes, please explain: No
Who are your top three campaign contributors?: Richard Weekley; All other contributors are under $1,000
Why are you seeking this office?: I believe in community service. There is no salary for serving on the SBOE. I serve because education is my passion and is what I know best since my whole career has centered on education. I am a strong supporter of the public education system and want the Texas public schools to be successful for all students. Success can be defined by creating informed, responsible citizens who are capable of making meaningful contributions to their community and beyond.
What are the biggest challenges facing the State Board of Education?: We can set such things as standards (Texas Education of Knowledge and Skills), but it is not within our scope of work to check to see that the those standards are being taught.
If elected, what would your top 3 policy priorities be?:
1. Setting the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (standards) for Social Studies and Math
2. Per HB 1605, the adoption of instructional materials
3. Setting policies for the newly created Permanent School Fund corporation
How will you measure your success as a member of the State Board of Education?: Success will be measured based upon the successful completion of each of my top priorities and addressing the needs of my constituents.
Why should voters choose you over your opponent?: I have extensive experience and a background in public school education which gives me a greater understanding of the responsibilities of the SBOE. To the position, I bring classroom and school leadership experience as well as a broad-based background in curriculum.
Do you support Gov. Greg Abbott’s call for the use of education savings accounts? Why?/Why not?: I would like for the public schools to be fully funded and for the state to work on improving the public schools before diverting funds to other entities. I believe in the parents’ right to choose whatever they think is the best way to educate their children. I support home-schooling, charter schools, the traditional public school, private and parochial schools. They are all viable education options. We have a tradition of free public schools and more recently have provided for free charter schools. I have never had children to utilize the public school system. However, I totally support my tax dollars paying for the public schools. I do not wish to see my tax dollars diverted to pay for other options. For example, should someone wish to start a school of Satan, and they will, I do not want my tax dollars to pay for that education choice.
What (if anything) should the state do to address concerns about low teacher pay?: It is very sad when the state had a rare surplus and yet failed to give teachers a pay increase. Aside from not getting a pay increase, the morale of the teachers was severely damaged. In previous years, they were told we just don’t have the money to give you a raise and when we had the money, the teachers were again overlooked. This is interpreted as a lack of respect for their hard work.
How would you assess the state’s shift to a curriculum based in the science of reading?: In the early 2000s, there was a concerted effort to ensure that all students could read. The state spent a great deal of time and money to make sure that all early elementary teachers were adept at the teaching of reading through a system of Reading Academies. After several years of greatly improved reading scores, the program was discontinued. Soon, the scores began to decline, and there was no longer a system in place that checked schools’ fidelity to the teaching of reading. This added to the sheer numbers of elementary age children and children in second language programs, and therefore, reading proficiency suffered. The TEA has once again implemented required Reading Academies. While somewhat interrupted by Covid, the state is on the right track to put the emphasis on every child learning to read. I also favor the encouragement by individual schools to provide parent training and support programs that emphasize the extreme importance of reading for all children.
How would you assess the current basic allotment for students?: The basic allotment has not changed since 2019. During that time, inflation has increased 15% causing financial stress on ISDs’ budgets. Schools cannot afford the increased price of energy, insurance, salaries, and more without an increase in the basic allotment. This is the responsibility of the Texas State Legislature.
How would you assess the usefulness of the STAAR test as a tool for measuring student, campus, and district success?: I support the STAAR testing but would like more assurance that the STAAR is truly reflective of the TEKS (standards). I do not like 3rd graders having to test online. I think that all students should be able to opt for a paper/pencil test. I would like to see other measures in place to reflect student, campus, and district success.
Brandon Hall
Age: 27
Campaign website: brandonhallfortexas.com
Best way for voters to reach you: brandonhallfortexas.com
Occupation: Pastor
Education: B.S. in Pastoral Theology, Hyles-Anderson College
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought, with years): I briefly ran for Texas House District 60 in 2024 election before switching to the SBOE-11 race.
Please list the highlights of your civic involvement/activism: Republican Delegate to the 2022 Republican Party of Texas Convention
Parker County Presiding Election Judge for 2023 Constitutional Election
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding? If yes, please explain: Nothing outside of minor traffic violations.
Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding? If yes, please explain: No
Who are your top three campaign contributors?: Ann Hall, Bryan Hall, James Eggleston
Why are you seeking this office?: I am running for State Board of Education to put parents back in charge of education. The State Board of education needs a solid conservative fighter with an outsider perspective to take on the establishment and tackle the big issues Texas children face in the classroom.
What are the biggest challenges facing the State Board of Education?: In the coming term for the SBOE 11 seat the SBOE will set new standards for social studies for the first time in over a decade. The member representing District 11 on the SBOE must be a relentless advocate for the Christian conservative values of our district and be hyper vigilant to ensure the standard block CRT and any name in repackages itself under are blocked from the classroom. History must be taught objectively and students must learn the principles and documents of the founding of America and Texas.
If elected, what would your top 3 policy priorities be?:
1. Provide a world-class education to every Texas public school student.
2. Eradicate CRT and obscene materials from Texas classrooms and textbooks.
3. Protect children from woke indoctrination.
How will you measure your success as a member of the State Board of Education?: I will consider my work on the SBOE a success when woke indoctrination, CRT, and obscene materials can no longer be found in Texas schools and parents are in the driver’s seat of their child’s education.
Why should voters choose you over your opponent?: While Pat Hardy has been described by multiple media outlets as “A swing vote on the board” I will always be a solid conservative fighter. While Pat Hardy criticized Governor Abbott’s bill banning CRT calling it a “Piece of junk legislation” and publicly called on the Governor to veto the bill, I will always support banning CRT and other forms of woke indoctrination. Pat Hardy also opposed bills banning boys from entering girls bathrooms saying it should be left up to individual school districts. She has been one of the most prominent opponents of school choice in the state. I will be a strong advocate for putting parents in charge of their child’s education. With the values and innocence of their children on the line, parents can count on me to represent their Christian conservative values 100% of the time. I will be the fighter, advocate, and watchdog parents need on the State Board of Education.
Do you support Gov. Greg Abbott’s call for the use of education savings accounts? Why?/Why not?: I fully support universal Education Savings Accounts for every Texas student. School choice is a beacon of opportunity. Every student, regardless of their zip code, deserves access to quality education. School choice fosters competition, driving schools to excel. Providing educational freedom means not only ensuring our students are provided the opportunity to succeed but also holds our education system to a higher standard. I am committed to making quality, conservative education a reality for all students.
What (if anything) should the state do to address concerns about low teacher pay?: I have a tremendous amount of respect for anyone who would give their life and career to educating the next generation of Texans. Teacher pay is not a political issue. Teachers must be adequately compensated taking national averages balanced with the cost of living in the specific ISD’s into consideration. I also support supplementing teacher salaries by implementing an incentive based pay system based on teacher/student performance to help recruit new teachers, retain veteran teachers, and allow students to thrive.
How would you assess the state’s shift to a curriculum based in the science of reading?: Returning to the building blocks of reading, especially phonics, is a positive step for improving reading proficiency among Texas students. I will support reading curricula that prioritize phonics especially for early elementary grades.
How would you assess the current basic allotment for students?: Nothing is more important than equipping the next generation with the education they need to be productive members of society. Public education should be adequately funded. More money does not always mean better results. I believe efficiency can be improved if we weed social indoctrination out of the classroom and return to the fundamentals of education.
How would you assess the usefulness of the STAAR test as a tool for measuring student, campus, and district success?: The STAAR test in it’s current form is not working for students and teachers. While standardized testing is important for measuring student, campus, district, and teacher success, teachers are spending too much valuable classroom time teaching for the test. This is causing unnecessary stress on students and teachers. Standardized testing must be course criteria based to test children on the TEKS set for their grade level, covering material they have already been learning. I believe the current STAAR test has varied too far from course criteria. Texas must adopt a new standardized testing system that ensures students are ready for the next grade level without teaching for the test.
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