Lobbyist announces candidacy for State Board of Education

While the focus of the of the Texas Republican primary is between the heavyweights Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison vying to be the GOP-backed candidate for the Texas Governor’s election, the Texas State Board of Education will also see a campaign worth noting.

Thomas Ratliff, a lobbyist based out of Mt. Pleasant, announced his candidacy for the District 9 seat of the Texas State Board of Education, which represents 29 counties from Brazos County to the Oklahoma border and parts of Collin County.

District 9 incumbent Don McLeroy was first elected to the seat in November 1998 and successfully ran re-election campaigns in 2002 and 2006.

In his 10 years on the SBOE, McLeroy has long stood for strict conservatism and upholding moral values within Texas schools, but Ratliff, a moderate Republican, said there’s more to being a SBOE board member than infusing personal standards into school curriculum.

“The biggest issue I’d like to fix is the communication between the board and local school administrators,” Ratliff said. “How can someone represent a district without talking to the people involved?”

Without constant communication between the board members and school district administrators, the board cannot adequately provide Texas schools with the obtainable goals and a successful future, Ratliff said, adding that he disagrees with McLeroy’s attitude toward how a board member determines what is best for school districts and students.

“My opponent has shown time and again that he wants to work for public education by telling teachers and education professionals that he knows better than they do what public education needs,” he said. “I simply do not agree with this approach or belief.”

By opening avenues of communication between local school administrators and the board of education, Ratliff said many more goals can be accomplished in a shorter amount of time.

“I want to work with the folks that have been there and know what they need from the State Board of Education,” he said. “I believe in public schools and trust those involved in our public schools to know what is best for our children’s education.”

Ratliff said a reliable representative on the board would have current, first-hand knowledge of Texas public schools and how the board’s actions affect students.

“I am a parent of two children in public school. My wife and I spend lots of time involved in our kids’ education,” he said. “Mr. McLeroy’s sons are both grown and have been out of the Texas public education system for a while. The wants and needs of the school system have changed dramatically since then.”

Ratliff thinks that the board members are caught up in partisan politics and that they are distracted from the board’s primary objective: establishing the direction necessary to enable Texas public schools to prepare today’s schoolchildren for a successful future.

A deliberative body like the State Board of Education can have healthy discussions and even disagreements without the members stooping to vindictive behavior towards one another, Ratliff said.

“I’ve been observing the board over the last one to two years and what’s really piqued by interest is that they seem so wrapped in up leadership issues that they’ve lost focus,” he said. “At the end of the day, what matters most is what’s going on in the classroom level.”

Ratliff admits he does not think McLeroy is a bad person and does not want to question his faith, values or motivations to serve on the SBOE.

“I don’t think Mr. McLeroy is a bad representative, I just think that someone needs to step in and do what’s best for public schools in Texas,” Ratliff said.

Ratliff will be campaigning in the Plano and Allen areas Nov. 10 at the First Baptist Church in Plano and Nov. 16 at Ralph and Kacoos Restaurant in Allen.

State Board of Education is composed of 15 members elected from roughly equally populous districts. Members of the board adopt rules and establish policies that govern a wide range of educational programs and services provided by Texas public schools. The board creates guidelines to provide the best possible education to public school students in Texas by designating and mandating instruction in the knowledge and skills that are essential to a well-balanced curriculum. The board also approves and determines passing scores for the state-mandated assessment program.

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