A 27-year-old pastor in Parker County unseated longtime Texas board of education member
There will be a new face on the Texas State Board of Education after Brandon Hall, a 27-year-old pastor from Parker County, defeated incumbent Pat Hardy in the District 11 Republican primary.
Hall received 53.24% of votes compared to 46.76% for Hardy. Hall will advance to the general election along with Democrat Rayna Glasser, who ran unopposed in her party’s primary.
Hall ran on a platform of protecting parental rights, preventing the teaching of Critical Race Theory and promoting Christian conservative values in education. He’s also a supporter of Gov. Greg Abbott’s push for voucher-like education savings accounts, which would allow parents to use public tax dollars on private education.
While not opposed to school choice, Hardy took a stance against using public money to pay for private schools.
“Should someone wish to start a school of Satan, and they will, I do not want my tax dollars to pay for that education choice,” Hardy previously told the Star-Telegram.
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If Hall wins in November, he will serve at least four years on the state board that sets curriculum standards for public education. One subject of particular interest for Hall will be the social studies curriculum.
In an earlier interview with the Star-Telegram’s editorial board, Hall said it’s important that history be taught in such a way so as not to make certain students feel victimized and others feel guilty for events that happened generations before they were born.
He said the new curriculum standards should be written in such a way to prevent school districts from slipping in what he referred to as indoctrination in the social studies curriculum.
The state board of education consists of 15 members who each represent a district comprising roughly 1.8 million Texans. Half the board’s members are elected every two years, with one member appointed by the governor.
District 11 covers parts of northeast Tarrant County and all of Parker, Somervell and Hood counties.
The general election will be Tuesday, Nov. 5.
