We recommend in the race for State Board of Education District 12

Voters face a refreshing rarity in the election for State Board of Education, District 12: a race with no bad options. Republican Pam Little and Democrat George King are both reasonable, experienced and well-informed. Either would serve the students of this state well. Our nod goes to the incumbent, Little.
Little, 71, was first elected to the SBOE in 2018 and currently serves as its vice chair. She trumpets the board’s efforts to strengthen career and technology education during her tenure. She said there are now 307 approved career and technology courses in the state. She also noted that phonics and cursive writing have returned to Texas curricula.
Little disagrees with her opponent over how the SBOE handled a textbook issue last year. In November, the board rejected seven proposed science textbooks amid a debate about what students should learn about fossil fuels and climate change.
Little said she wanted to bring balance to the textbooks, which are largely produced by national publishers who, in her view, tend to favor renewables. She wanted students to know how much fossil fuels contribute to the Texas economy and school funding.
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King sees it differently, saying that some texts rated highly by the state’s own rubric were rejected over their portrayal of fossil fuels.
“This is where we allowed politics to color the judgment of the board,” he said.
But if Little aligns with some conservative interests, she doesn’t seem to be carrying water for the state’s far-right political machine. Little told us about receiving texts from Republican political operatives telling her how to vote on certain matters, which she ignores, she said.
“I’m not going to vote for [something] just to avoid JoAnn Fleming,” Little said, referring to the executive director of the conservative Grassroots America-We the People PAC. “I’m going to do what I think is best for students in Texas, and that will never change.”
Little also isn’t afraid of taking on Commissioner of Education Mike Morath, an appointee of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. She disagreed with Morath’s decision to administer the STAAR test in a digital format and his handling of some instructional materials.
Little proposes a realignment that would bring Morath’s department, the Texas Education Agency, under the authority of the SBOE, something that Morath and Abbott would no doubt oppose. Little said the current system is confusing for parents and places more authority in appointed, rather than elected, leaders.
King, 65, a retired principal who spent most of his career in Plano ISD, is campaigning on inclusivity and says students can achieve when they feel they belong.
“Inclusivity is essential to student success,” he said. “I will passionately champion that.”
Both candidates are principled, seasoned educators with plenty to offer. Little shows she’s capable of bucking party operatives for the sake of students, so she gets our recommendation.
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