This Texas board of education race pits teacher vs. pastor. Here’s our endorsement | Opinion
It’s not a requirement that a State Board of Education member be a teacher, but it helps. What should be a must for voters, though, is a focus on the actual duties assigned to the board.
On both counts, voters in District 11 should go with Democrat Rayna Glasser, a longtime Dunbar High School math teacher who is focused on what the board can do to improve curriculum materials and graduation requirements.
Glasser, 48, is now a teacher development and student instruction specialist in the Crowley school district. That gives her further understanding of the challenges facing Texas schools and how the board can shape materials to help ease teachers’ workloads.
In an interview, Glasser, who lives in west Fort Worth, came across as not ideologically rigid about curriculum materials. That will be important as the board develops optional textbooks for schools, and it suggests she would be able to work with the GOP majority on the board.
Glasser also demonstrated a desire to remove standardized testing requirements for graduation. We’re not sure that’s the best idea in a time when Texas schools need more academic rigor, not less. But she indicated that she understands testing is an important diagnostic tool for schools.
Glasser also said she would focus on developing trade and military pathways for students as an alternative to college.
She said, too, that she had talked with Pat Hardy, the district’s veteran board member who lost a re-election bid in the Republican primary. Glasser is wise to use Hardy as a resource.
Hardy lost to Brandon Hall, a Weatherford pastor who now faces Glasser. Hall, who did not respond to our interview request, has demonstrated a passion for social issues from a staunch conservative perspective. But he doesn’t muster the same enthusiasm for the actual work the board does.
Glasser is prepared for that work, and voters should give her a shot at it.
Also on the ballot is Green Party candidate Hunter Crow. Early voting starts Oct. 21 and ends Nov. 1. Election Day is Nov. 5. District 11 includes much of Tarrant and Johnson counties, along with all of Parker, Hood and Somervell counties.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHey, who is behind these endorsements?
Members of the Editorial Board, which serves as the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s institutional voice, decide candidates and positions to recommend to voters. The members of the board are: Cynthia M. Allen, columnist; Steve Coffman, editor and president; Bradford William Davis, columnist and editorial writer; Bud Kennedy, columnist; and Ryan J. Rusak, opinion editor.
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How does the process work?
The Editorial Board interviews candidates, asking about positions on issues, experience and qualifications, and how they would approach holding the office for which they are running. Board members do additional research on candidates’ backgrounds and the issues at hand. After that, members discuss the candidates and generally aim to arrive at a consensus, though not necessarily unanimity. All members contribute observations and ideas, so the resulting editorials represent the board’s view, not a particular writer.
How do partisanship and ideology factor in?
We’re not tied to one party or the other, and our positions on issues range across the ideological spectrum. We tend to prefer candidates who align with our previously stated positions, but qualifications, temperament and experience are important, too.