Education In Danger In March Primary

It looks like the state of the educational system in Texas is in danger in the upcoming March 4th primary election. The right-wing fundamentalists already control 7 of the 15 seats on the State Board of Education, and there is a chance that they could win the District 11 seat in the upcoming primary.

The seat is currently held by Republican Pat Hardy. She is being opposed by Barney Maddox. In the past, Maddox has labeled the teachings of Charles Darwin as "pre-Civil War fairy tales". Here is how the Fort Worth Star-Telegram describes Maddox's beliefs:

"...some of Maddox's views have emerged through his public testimony and published writings. In 2003, for instance, the Cleburne urologist testified against evolution at the State Board of Education with his characterization of Charles Darwin's theories as "pre-Civil War fairy tales." He urged board members at the meeting to reject new biology textbooks.

Maddox also questioned evolution in a 2006 letter to the Cleburne Times-Review and has had anti-evolution writings posted on the Web site of the Institute for Creation Research, a Dallas organization that attempts to find scientific evidence for the writings in the Bible. In published voters guides, Maddox has reported strong opposition to replacing abstinence-only education with more comprehensive sex education, strong opposition to providing school counseling or teaching about homosexuality, and strong support for displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools."

Dan Quinn of the Texas Freedom Network had this to say about the District 11 primary race, "This one vote would give a majority to a faction that is determined to censor information for their own political and personal beliefs. That would put at risk everything from the teaching of evolution, to how publishers approach the study of American history."

There is no Democrat running for the District 11 seat (which cover three-fourths of Tarrant county plus all of Johnson, Parker and Ellis counties). That means we must depend on Republican voters to keep our school systems from being shoved back into the 19th century. That makes me very nervous, since Texas Republicans are not known for their defense of science or separation of church and state.

I guess we'll just have to cross our fingers and hope for the best.