Eight seats on the Texas State Board of Education are up for election

AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas State Board of Education is responsible for managing K-12 public education in Texas. It is an elected executive branch of the Texas state government.

Five of the seats were contested on Election Day and four Republicans prevailed, ensuring the board has a Republican majority. The fifth race had not yet been determined as of Wednesday morning.

Republican Tom Maynard defeated Democrat Raquel Sáenz Ortiz, Republican Brandon Hall defeated Democrat Rayna Glasser and Green Party candidate Hunter Crow, Aaron Kinsey defeated Democrat Morgan Kirkpatrick and Libertarian Jack Westbrook, and Pam Little defeated Democrat George King.

Democrat Gustavo Reveles defeated Republican challenger Michael “Travis” Stevens in the race for District 1. The seat is currently held by Democrat Melissa Ortega of El Paso, but she has decided not to run for re-election.

The board consists of 15 members and each represents one of the state's 15 educational districts. The members are elected for staggered terms of two and four years.

San Antonio Democrat Marisa Perez-Diaz, Houston Democrat Staci Childs and Democrat Tiffany Clark ran unopposed.

The Texas State Board of Education website states: “The Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) is the policymaking body of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) that coordinates all public education activities and services other than those of colleges and universities. “Universities. The SBOE, upon the recommendation of the Commissioner of Education, approves the organizational plan; adopts policies, rules and regulations; approves budgets; executes contracts for the purchase of textbooks and teaching materials in accordance with the recommendations of the Commissioner; leads Permanent School Fund investment; forwards appeals of decisions of the Commissioner; reviews the educational needs of the state; and evaluates programs under the direction of TEA.”