Education Woes in Texas

The Texas State Board of Education is in need of a new chairperson since the Texas Senate refused to confirm the conservative creationist Don McLeroy for the position. That seemed great until it was revealed that on his short list for the position is Cynthia Dunbar - a choice that makes McLeroy look almost moderate. Yikes, indeed. Like McLeroy, Dunbar is an ardent creationist and has made many controversial statements about public education in Texas, such as suggesting that Texas’ schools “undermine parents’ authority to teach children scriptural interpretations.” She has called public education a “subtly deceptive tool of perversion.” Is Perry reckless enough to appoint her? Really? Possibly!

One problem is that the Texas legislature meets only once every two years. Yes, for those of you not from Texas, that is not a typo – once every TWO YEARS. So… Since they are just out of session if Perry appoints Ms. Dunbar the Senate won’t be able to refuse to confirm her until she has already been in the position for two years. Lovely.

Dunbar is not only a creationist but a particularly paranoid and delusional one. She has come under fire for some ridiculous things she has written about Obama (which even other republicans have distanced themselves from) and if he chooses her it will be a very unpopular decision among the moderates and liberals of Texas, but Perry doesn’t care. He is facing a challenge for the Govenor’s position in a few years from comparatively moderate Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and folks think he may appoint Dunbar to prove his conservative credentials to extreme right wing Christian conservatives.

I have a son entering the public school system in the fall and this is just plain depressing. Having Ms. Dunbar in this position would be like hiring a Tobacco executive to the presidency of the American Lung Association. We will be holding our breath to see if our texas public educational is, as a Discover Magazine blogger put it "careening toward doom."