By Molly Ivins
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Copyright, 1998, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

AUSTIN -- Election alert! Heads up, voters. There are some down-ballot races
that could cause us major embarrassment, not to mention putting the public
schools at risk.

The State Board of Education -- one of those obscure entities that we notice
only when its members do something impressively foolish -- is in real danger
of being completely taken over by the theocratic right. Five candidates backed
by Christian conservative organizations are running for the board; if they win
-- and the Christian Coalition will be distributing millions of leaflets in
their behalf -- they will join the Christian right-wingers already on the
board, giving them a heavy-duty presence on the 15-member body.

These are pretty much your basic pro-voucher, prayer-in-the-schools, teach-
creationism-instead-of-evolution, no-sex-ed-of-any-kind, post-the-Ten-
Commandments, teach-only-phonics and get-rid-of-the-school-to-work-program
folks. All that comes straight off an Eagle Forum questionnaire for board of
ed candidates.

You may confused by some of this; how in the world phonics and the school-to-
work program became issues for the Christian right is not readily apparent,
but there is an increasingly long list of issues that the Christian right has
taken up that have no bearing whatever on religion or morality. For some
reason, they've decided that the Goals 2000 program, a program to set higher
academic standards, is a tool of creeping socialism.

The Christian Coalition strategy on down-ballot races like the State Board of
Education is tried and true, and it works. According to the coalition's own
strategy manuals, their goal is to find low-turnout races, preferably as low
as 15 percent, which they can win with just eight percent. When the public is
indifferent or ignorant about these "minor" races, it's quite easy for a
motivated, well-disciplined minority to win.

Their candidates, whom you might want to remember just so you can vote against
them:

* Donna Ballard (District 1) was on the board from 1995 to '97, when she
resigned because her family moved from East to West Texas. We already know how
she behaves on the board; the `Houston Chronicle' called her "the most
controversial member of the board -- perhaps in the entire history of that
body." She was a noisy, polarizing presence, and she so alienated many members
of the Legislature that there was serious talk of simply disbanding the board
entirely. She blasted Gov. George W. Bush for supporting the Texas Essential
Knowledge and Skills curriculum.

* Dr. Shirley Pigott (District 2) is a physician and head of the Victoria
chapter of the right-wing American Family Association.

* Dr. Don McLeroy (District 9) is a dentist and a Bryan school board member.

* Judy Strickland (District 15) is chairwoman of the Plainview chapter of the
Texas Eagle Forum, and in 1987 she received that group's Full-time Homemaker
Award.

* Richard Watson is an incumbent running for re-election and is also backed by
right-wing groups. He had supported their agenda on the board.

It seems to me that Republicans in particular have reason to vote against
these candidates; it is their party that will be embarrassed by their behavior
and platform, and their governor whose programs and ideas to improve the
schools that will be under attack.

A major player in these elections is James Leininger, a San Antonio
multimillionaire who funds efforts to get vouchers for religious education.
Not only are vouchers in violation of the Texas Constitution, but they also
are a rotten idea on their face. Taking money out of the public schools and
putting it into religious schools instead will damage the public schools; one
would think anyone could see that.

One group that backs these candidates is called Texans for Governmental
Integrity. In Ballard's 1994 race, the group sent out a direct mail that
showed two men kissing and stated that Ballard's opponent favored textbooks
that promote abortion and homosexuality. Such a Christian level of
campaigning. Since 1992, Leininger has given $35,000 to Texans for
Governmental Integrity, according to the Texas Freedom Network.

It may be that the State Board of Education does not have much impact, but it
does select school texts and influence the curriculum. True, if it becomes
outrageous, the Lege can always abolish it. But it is depressing to think that
we will have to listen to these people carry on about abortion, homosexuality,
creationism and federal conspiracies to take over the schools.

Our schools need all the help they can get, and in particular, the movement to
raise standards in the schools has had an important and positive impact in
other states. Couldn't we get some people on the board who are concerned about
education?

Molly Ivins is a columnist for the `Star-Telegram.' You may write to her at
1005 Congress Ave., Suite 920, Austin, TX 78701; call her at (512) 476-8908;
or send your comments to mollyivins@star-telegram.com.

By Dave Mundy
The Katy Times
Copyright, 1998, Hartman Newspapers Inc.

Dear Molly:
    Friends of mine on the education loop passed along the text of your
Sept. 30 column, the ol' "Election alert!" bit about those no-good
religious fanatics taking over the state school board. I always enjoy
reading your pieces because they're so sharp-witted -- albeit they're
also so short-sighted and foaming-at-the-mouth left-wing that I usually
throw up while I'm giggling, which tends to get kinda embarassing if
I'm, like, in the middle of a crowded restaurant. But I get a lot of
free meals that way, so I guess it's not too bad.
 
 Anyway, I got to reading this particular piece, and sorry, but this
time I wasn't chuckling along. Why is it that the Left -- i.e., you and
Cecile Richards -- feel it necessary to respond to organized political
opposition with plain-and-simple fear tactics and undisguised hatred?
Sheesh, girl, if you was half the journalist you profess to be, you'd
look beyond what the gummint tells you; I did, and that's why I'm allied
with the selfsame hatemongering, right-wingers you so eloquently loathe.

    Let's look at a few facts, shall we?

    You're quite correct that the Christian Right has taken on a few
causes not normally in their sphere (such as phonics, school to work,
Goals:2000 and others). Ain't it amazing that brain-dead religious
bigots can actually formulate an intelligent argument or two without
inserting "GOD SAID..." somewhere? Unfortunately for the gummint, a lot
of what they're fighting for has either been proven to be correct
(phonemic awareness followed by intensive phonics before "exploring
literature" is perhaps the best example).

    Have you ever done enough tinkering to figure out where "education
reform" came from? Ever looked up who thought up School-to-Work and
Goals:2000? Ever read much of anything by John Dewey, the "father of
modern education?" Ever wonder why our esteemed Guv didn't bother
letting the Lege or any of the rest of us know he was going to apply for
millions of federal bucks for the School-to-Work program? Ever read the
U.S. Constitution?

    Well, I did the research. I saw where the New Standards came from,
and I saw where the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills came from. I
read the language in the Goals:2000 and School-to-Work legislation. I
read the Education Commission of the States report, signed by Guv'ner
Bush hisownself, which calls for the elimination of elected school
boards at the state and local level and their replacement by appointed
groups of "corporate leaders."

    Maybe it's just me, but I coulda swore the socialist Left in this
country would've been the first group to hammer this agenda to turn more
and more power over to multi-national corporations and fat cats. But
gee, it fell to the Religious Right and old die-hard social libertarians
like myself. We see this agenda for what it is, and where it comes from:
good ole fascism, Mussolini-like. I have a couple of fine volumes on
Mussolini and fascism: I think you'd find them quite enlightening.

    Anyway, you're quite right about the Christian Coalition's strategy
on down-ballot races. You even admitted, hey, it works. Not that the
Left has never used such an idea, nosiree. Actually, the Left prefers
large turnouts, where people go out to vote because they're fearful the
Nazis are coming. In the case of this year's elections, that's not
entirely out of the question -- except the Nazis we need to be fearing
are the "moderates" who will get 70 percent of the vote in the
governor's race, not the so-called Far Right. Do a little bit of
searching amongst us on the "Far Right," and I think you'll find more of
us are constitutionalists than are militia morons.

    I do agree with you that our schools need all the help they can get
to raise standards. That's why I'll philosophically back Donna Ballard,
Shirley Pigott, Don McLeroy, Judy Strickland (so what's wrong with being
a full-time homemaker?) and Richard Watson. They'll challenge the status
quo, not just go along to get along like all the other sheep.

    I do love that "raising the bar" mantra: you got that from my buddy
Jack Christie, dincha? Let's examine "raising the bar," then:

    * "recentering" of SAT and ACT scores nationwide, twice now that I
know of. Recentering means they've artifically increased the scores, to
make everybody look better, because students are getting dumber. Don't
take my word for it -- look up the research!

    * Ain't it astounding that more and more campuses and even entire
school districts in Texas are earning that coveted "exemplary" rating
for their TAAS scores? Of course, so far, only a few districts have been
caught tampering with their TAAS scores -- Austin ISD, for one. And
let's not forget, the TAAS doesn't even test all the students -- Houston
ISD and 30 percent in '97 ring a bell? Nor should we discount the fact
that the TAAS is apparently being at least partially recycled; students
this year reported they had studied for the TAAS all year long, and when
they took it, they recognized a lot of the questions because their
teachers had been drilling them on it all year!

    * My friend School-to-Work: I guess you keep hearing about it all
being "voluntary," that's my favorite part. Read the Texas STW Grant
Application: it kinda expressly says "all" children "will" about a dozen
times.And what if Joe Schmoe in Houston's Fifth Ward doesn't WANT to be
a happy street-sweeper, like his local Workforce Development Board says
he should be? Look at the nuances here, Molly: you and me both decried
the lack of individual freedom and choice inherent in the polytechnical
education system of the old Communist regimes -- yet here we are
implementing the same doggone thing!

    * You mention that "the movement to raise standards in the schools
has had an important and positive impact in other states." Okay, let's
see: California "raised standards" according to the educrats' plans --
and promptly fell to dead-last in the nation in reading and math. In
Oregon, those same standards resulted in one student, identified by her
teachers as "one of the brightest math minds ever to come out of Old
Saybrook," flunking out of Brown University after less than half a year
because she couldn't add and subtract. In Chicago, parents sued the
school system after "reforms" were implemented which resulted in
wholesale illiteracy among the predominantly black population. In East
Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, an entire grade level of little girls were
marched out of their classrooms and down to the gym, where they were
forced to disrobe so that state college researchers could examine their
genitals -- their parents were never consulted. After "getting in touch
with their feelings" thanks to New Age educational theories, students in
Jonesboro, Arkansas, Springfield, Oregon, and Pascagoula, Mississippi,
went out and murdered their classmates. And I guess we should also
dredge up that international study which ranked U.S. students behind
everybody except Outer Slobbovia in math and science scores. If we're
"raising the bar," it's only because the mud's gettin' REAL deep.

    Interestingly enough, I and a lot of other no-account, snarling
right-wingers are actually in agreement with you on the subject of
school vouchers -- although for different reasons. I oppose them because
the minute we start giving public money to private education, it ain't
private education any more. With tax dollars come gummint regulations,
and the more regulated it is, the less private it becomes.

    Ah, you dredged up the "conspiracy theory," I see. Just so's it's
known and in the open, I'm the one who published that "federal takeover"
story first. I just hauled in a National Newspaper Association award for
it. It's not a "conspiracy," but it certainly is an attempt by the Feds
to take over the education system in this country. I could argue with ya
for weeks about why that's wrong, but insted I'll just refer you to the
U.S. Constitution, in particular the 10th Amendment. Last I heard, it's
never been rescinded -- although it's a sure bet the gummint no longer
pays attention to it.

    On the other hand, I'm kind of surprised that you would say the
Republicans in particular ought to vote against the aforementioned
Christian Coalition cretins; you and I both know that the upper
heirarchy of the Republican Party is only backing Guv'ner Bush this year
because they think they can get him elected President and "control" him;
he's a Republican in name only. Do a little huntin' on his family's
political history.  Those of us down here in the trenches would just as
soon vote for a Democrat, were their nominee not a Clinton insider. Pity
Pat Paulsen has dropped out of politics, it'd be nice to have at least a
protest choice, instead of deciding which Democrat to vote for.

    I'm about as religious as your average rock. I have friends who are
openly gay, I had sex before I got married, I inhaled, and I can't say
I've led a wholly "Christian" life (Houston on Saturday nights can be a
hoppin' town!). There are issues on which I and people like Donna
Ballard and Richard Watson would probably have sharp differences. With
them on the State Board, at least, I know such subjects will get
discussed in the open, where the public can hear it, in a democratic
fashion instead of being snuck in through some obscure regulation
written by an obscure educational bureacrat whose goal in life is to
enlighten people whether they want to be enlightened or not.

    You ended the column by asking why can't we get some people on the
board who are concerned about education; well, these guys ask questions,
they argue about it in good ol' Texas fashion, and they don't simply sit
around and rubber-stamp what some bureaucratic genius or corporate mogul
puts in front of them. If that's not concern for education, if that's
not concern for the children of Texas, then what the heck is it?

    I won't defend some of the scurrilous campaigning done by the CC's
for their folks; there ain't enough slime in a Louisiana swamp that some
politician -- or us newspaper columnists -- won't use it.

    Anyways, that's enough of my sicko right-wing commentary for now.
Keep us entertained, Molly -- but please, do us a favor and occasionally
check to see whether them left-wingers are actually telling you the
truth!
--Dave