Conservative school board candidates saw a string of defeats in parts of Texas where voters had backed President Donald Trump in November.
Why It Matters
In recent years, school boards, usually nonpartisan, have become political battlegrounds in broader culture wars. Conservatives have targeted public education, arguing that parents should have more control over what their children learn at school.
The elections took place in Texas as Governor Greg Abbott signed a $1 billion school voucher program, which will use public dollars to fund private school tuition, into law. Republican lawmakers who support the bill say it will give parents more choice by letting them pull their children out of underperforming public schools, while critics see it as draining financial resources from the state’s public schools.
What To Know
In school board races on May 3, conservative-backed candidates suffered losses.
Voters overhauled the Mansfield Independent School District’s board in the May 3 election, with challengers unseating three conservative incumbents.
Ana-Alicia Horn, a data management professional in the event ticketing software industry, defeated incumbent Keziah Valdes Farrar. Jason Thomas, who manages road and bridge operations in Tarrant County’s Precinct 2, unseated incumbent Craig Tipping. Meanwhile, Jesse Cannon II, the director of visual and performing arts for Fort Worth ISD, won against incumbent Bianca Benavides Anderson, a sales consultant.
In the Fort Bend Independent School District, conservatives lost two board seats.
Afshi Charania, an opponent of school vouchers, unseated incumbent Rick Garcia, and Angie Wierzbicki won a seat currently held by David Hamilton, who didn’t seek reelection. The result means the board will go from having a 5-2 conservative majority to a 4-3 left-leaning majority.
In the Katy Independent School District election, voters ousted the board’s conservative president, Victor Perez, who had championed a policy restricting the rights of transgender students. James Cross, an educator and principal, defeated Perez with 58 percent of the vote.
In the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District, voters ousted conservative Tammy Nakamura and chose Matt Faust for the board.
In the Keller Independent School District, Randy Campbell, Jennifer Erickson, and appointed incumbent Chelsea Kelley won, filling some seats that were previously held by conservative-backed members.
In the Clear Creek Independent School District, voters elected Rebecca Lilley over incumbent Scott Bowen and reelected Jessica Cejka over challenger Joe Machol.
iStock
What People Are Saying
Sara McGee, a Democrat running for a seat in the Texas House, on X (formerly Twitter): “News coming in from all over the state that all of the super MAGA anti-public education school board candidates were defeated… having ousted the Mom’s For Liberty endorsed candidate from our community, James Cross will now be in the position to fight for ALL of the students in our district.”
Podcaster Jennifer Berkshire, on X: “Given how popular school vouchers are supposed to be in Texas you’d think that voters would have rewarded the GOP yesterday but instead the opposite seems to have happened. An absolute shellacking in key school board races.”
Activist Carlos Turcios, on X: “Horrible News in Mansfield Texas. The Radical DEI Left has flipped the conservative school board. Mansfield ISD has capitulated to the DEI-LGBTQ Left.”
What Happens Next
The new board members will likely push for policies that align with their platforms advocating for public education.