First SBOE Meeting of 2023 Gets Off to an Icy Start
Due to the icy conditions that struck the Austin and surrounding areas, the State Board of Education (SBOE) compacted what had been expected to be four days of meetings into two days.
About the only major scheduled agenda item that didn’t happen, due to the compressed schedule, was that Education Commissioner Mike Morath didn’t get to have his regularly scheduled informal “Commissioner’s Comments” session with the board. The board also postponed its biennial ethics training.
The governor with the newly elected and re-elected SBOE members. Click photo to enlarge.
Gov. Greg Abbott administered the oath of office to all 15 members of the board — the six new members who were elected in November for the first time and the nine returning members who were re-elected.
Abbott, in brief remarks, didn’t say anything about school choice or vouchers, but he did predict there was a high probability that the current legislative session would result in more money for public education and for teachers — and would result in schools being made safer.
But, the governor said that, in contrast to what he said had happened in California (where, he said, that state’s pouring money into schools resulted in lower student achievement levels), money isn’t itself a pathway to achieving better results — and he called for Texas to place greater emphasis on improving fundamental student math and reading skills.
The first-time board members are:
- Republicans: LJ Francis (Corpus Christi), Julie Pickren (Pearland), Evelyn Brooks (Frisco) and Aaron Kinsey (Midland).
- Democrats: Melissa Ortega (El Paso) and Staci Childs (Houston).
The returning board members are:
- Republicans: Will Hickman (Houston), Audrey Young (Trinity), Keven Ellis (Lufkin), Tom Maynard (Florence), Patricia Hardy (Fort Worth) and Pam Little (Fairview).
- Democrats: Marisa B. Perez-Diaz (San Antonio), Rebecca Bell-Metereau (San Marcos), and Aicha Davis (Dallas).
Board Officers
The board re-elected Little as vice chair and elected Hardy as secretary. Ellis continues as board chair as an appointee to that position by the governor.
Drawing for Board Terms
Because all 15 board positions were elected in November (due to redistricting), a drawing determined which of the seven board members will serve two-year terms, and which eight members will serve four-year terms. (SBOE members elected in non-redistricting years serve four-year terms, with elections held on a staggered basis every two years.)
- Two-year board terms:
- Republicans: 1) Maynard, 2) Hardy, 3) Little and 4) Kinsey.
- Democrats: 1) Ortega, 2) Perez-Diaz and 3) Childs. (A TEA staff member drew for Ortega, who was absent during the drawing.)
- Republicans: 1) Maynard, 2) Hardy, 3) Little and 4) Kinsey.
- Four-year board terms:
- Republicans: 1) Francis, 2) Hickman, 3) Pickren, 4) Young, 5) Ellis and 6) Brooks.
- Democrats: 1) Bell-Metereau and 2) Davis.
- Republicans: 1) Francis, 2) Hickman, 3) Pickren, 4) Young, 5) Ellis and 6) Brooks.
SBOE Standing Committees
The following are the members of the SBOE’s three standing committees for the next two years (the full SBOE also meets as a SBOE Committee of the Full Board):
- SBOE Committee on Instruction: 1) Audrey Young, chair; 2) Evelyn Brooks, vice chair; 3) Aicha Davis; 4) Pam Little and 5) Melissa Ortega.
- SBOE Committee on School Initiatives: 1) Will Hickman, chair; 2) Rebecca Bell-Metereau; 3) Staci Childs; 4) LJ Francis and 5) Julie Pickren. (Hickman did not immediately appoint a vice chair.)
- Committee on School Finance/Permanent School Fund: 1) Tom Maynard (re-elected as chair); 2) Marisa Perez-Diaz, vice chair; 3) Patricia Hardy; 4) Aaron Kinsey and 5) Keven Ellis.
The board’s new operating rules will be posted, when available, here.
