Three Republicans who have at times broken with their party's majority on the Texas State Board of Education are leaving the board, and the Republicans running to replace them appear to value party alignment over consensus, The Texas Tribune reported Thursday.
Republicans hold an 11-4 majority on the board, and nine of its seats are on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Who is leaving
Will Hickman of Houston, Evelyn Brooks of Frisco and Keven Ellis of Lufkin are not seeking reelection. Hickman told the Tribune the time the unpaid job takes from family and work weighed heavily in his decision. Brooks said she would have run again had she not entered the governor's race, which she lost in the March primary. Ellis did not respond to the Tribune's questions.
The Tribune pointed to several recent votes where some Republicans split from their colleagues, including on Bible-based reading materials, a Native studies course and this summer's social studies rewrite. In one example, Hickman proposed removing the word "brutal" from a description of the Prophet Muhammad's military campaigns; an 8-4 majority turned him down.
Hickman said most of the board's work is not partisan but that members are more divided than when he joined in 2021. Brooks said some members focus on donors and political groups, and that the board needs more balance.
The candidates
Republican Tiffany Nelson, a former Conroe school board member, is running for Hickman's seat; her campaign site says critical race theory and "gender ideology" have no place in Texas schools. Kason Huddleston, a pastor, is the Republican running for Ellis' seat. Mindy Bumgarner is the Republican nominee for Brooks' seat, and her platform cites transparency and parental rights.
