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

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas State Board of Education is responsible for administering Texas’ public K-12 education. It is an elected governing body of the state of Texas.

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

Republican Tom Maynard defeated Democrat Raquel Sáenz Ortiz, Republican Brandon Hall topped Democrat Rayna Glasser and party candidate Hunter Crow, Aaron Kinsey beat 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 El Paso Democrat Melissa Ortega, but she decided not to run for re-election.

The board has 15 members, and each represents one of the state’s 15 education districts. The members are elected to serve staggered terms of two years and four years.

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

According to the Texas State Board of Education website“The Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) is the policy-making body of the Texas Education Agency (TEA), which coordinates all public educational activities and services except colleges and universities. The SBOE, upon recommendation of the Commissioner of Education, approves the organizational plan; adopts policies, rules and regulations; executes contracts for textbooks and instructional materials; directs the investment of the commissioner’s decisions; and reviews programs under the direction of the TEA.