Early voting has begun in the Democratic runoff for the Texas State Board of Education District 5 seat, which spans several counties in Central Texas. The board oversees what students learn in school, approves new charter schools and establishes graduation requirements.
Both candidates rose to the top of a six-way race in March and hope to win the Democratic nomination for the 15-member partisan board. The winner of the May 26 runoff will face Republican Mica Arellano in November.
Candidates are vying for the open Central Texas seat as the SBOE undergoes a lengthy and controversial revision to the state’s social studies curriculum that seeks to emphasize Texas over American history and global topics. The update is expected to hone in on the role of Judeo-Christian and Western cultures in the country’s founding.
Allison Bush
Bush, a Pflugerville resident, is a former theater and speech teacher from Crosby Independent School District who has served in top roles in Bastrop and Pflugerville ISDs' education foundations, where she helped raise money for the districts.
Bush, 51, said her experience in the classroom sets her up to understand the implications of SBOE decisions. She also insists that the SBOE has gotten too political, and that curriculum should be historically accurate. She said the SBOE’s biggest problem is “Christian nationalists trying to push an agenda that’s not letting our curriculum be historically accurate, not showing all students represented in the curriculum.”
The former teacher said she wants more oversight of how much state money goes toward charter schools, publicly funded campuses that don’t have attendance boundaries. The schools were originally created three decades ago to foster innovative learning tactics.
Stephanie Limon Bazan
Limon Bazan, an Austinite and former St. Edward’s University English professor, is executive director of Generation SERVE, a nonprofit that helps youth get involved in volunteering.
Like Bush, Limon Bazan emphasized the need for public school curriculum to be historically accurate. She said she was worried about the implications of the state financially incentivizing school districts to adopt Texas Education Agency-backed curriculum. Districts receive extra funding for each student who learns the state lessons.
The former professor said she believes charter schools are a public education tool and shouldn’t be pitted against traditional public schools.
Campaign spending
Limon Bazan far outraised Bush, according to recent campaign finance reports. Between Dec. 4 and May 16, Limon Bazan raised $153,415, including $20,000 from the center-left Center for Strong Public Schools, $1,000 from Charter Schools Now and $30,000 from Lorraine Clasquin, the founder of the KLE Foundation, which funds education initiatives and helped fund the expansion of several Austin charter schools a decade ago. The candidate also contributed $6,678 of her own funds to her campaign.
Bush raised $52,105 between July 1 and May 16, including a $5,000 donation from Bell-Metereau’s campaign, $2,500 from the Association for Texas Professional Educators, $2,500 from the Texas State Teachers Association and a $250 donation from Lynn Boswell, Austin ISD’s school board president.