The week was dominated by big election news. Read the latest from ATPE and Teach the Vote:

• ELECTION UPDATE: Educators mobilized to shape the outcome of one high-profile SBOE runoff, while some other races have recounts pending

• Next Gen Commission struggles to find consensus on testing recommendations

• ATPE discusses what's next after the court's school finance decision

 

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The May 24 primary runoff election included some high-profile races of special interest to the education community. The Republican primary runoff for SBOE District 9, where incumbent Thomas Ratliff (R) did not seek re-election, became one of the most anticipated contests in Texas but garnered attention from the media here and around the country. Outspoken and controversial candidate Mary Lou Bruner, who had been the front-runner in the March 1 primary and almost escaped a runoff, was defeated Tuesday night by Dr. Keven Ellis. Between the two elections, Bruner had angered many educators within and even outside the northeast Texas district with questionable claims about school conditions there and an apparent refusal to fact-check or correct her misstatements. At least one Tea Party group that endorsed Bruner early on withdrew its support for her, while educators rallied around Ellis, who had been endorsed by the pro-public education group Texas Parent PAC, to help him secure the win. Other closely watched races this week included Republican primary runoffs in Texas Senate Districts 1 and 24, where voters chose Tea Party-backed candidates Bryan Hughes and Dawn Buckingham, respectively, over their Texas Parent PAC-endorsed opponents David Simpson and Susan King.  With extremely low voter turnout, several Texas House runoffs produced slim margins of victory, and at least two of those races are headed for a recount. Check out our blog for more from The Texas Tribune on anticipated recounts in House Districts 128 and 54. Candidates have until June 6 to decide if they will seek a recount. HD 128, a seat currently held by Rep. Wayne Smith (R), was one of the runoffs Tuesday night in which incumbent legislators were ousted by more conservative challengers; Rep. Doug Miller (R) in HD 73, another Texas Parent PAC-endorsed candidate, is the other incumbent who lost his runoff on Tuesday in a winner-take-all race where there are no candidates from other parties seeking the seat this November. For a complete list of Tuesday's outcomes in state legislative and SBOE runoffs, read our runoff election recap blog post from Wednesday.  

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Monty Exter On Wednesday, the Texas Commission on Next Generation Assessments and Accountability held another meeting in Austin. ATPE Lobbyist Monty Exter attended the commission's day-long work session. The inability to reach consensus yet on a number of questions relating to how Texas tests students is causing the commission to add another meeting in June to its schedule. Read Monty's blog post from this morning to learn more about the ongoing deliberations of the commission.  

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Josh Sanderson With the dust settling on the Texas Supreme Court's school finance ruling, many are wondering what, if anything, lawmakers will do to change the funding system that justices described as "Byzantine" and "undeniably imperfect."  This week, ATPE Lobbyist Josh Sanderson appeared on Time Warner Cable's Capitol Tonight program to talk about school finance. Josh explained ways in which past budget cuts, that were never fully restored, have affected classrooms and noted that per-pupil funding has not kept up with rising standards for students, schools, and teachers over the years. Check out video of the episode here.  

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Enjoy the Memorial Day weekend! Celebrate the end of the school year! Stay safe if you're hitting the road!