Univ. of Texas and Austin Urban Communities Gerrymandered off Board of Ed

EDITORIAL

Thanks to help from our friends at Rembrandt-We-Ain’t Web Services, we’re getting a clearer picture of what’s happening at the Texas State Board of Education (TSBOE). See the visualization here.

One obvious flaw in the democratic structure of the TSBOE is the way it purports to represent Travis County, the premiere educational community of Texas.

Dallas and Houston each have urban districts which reflect Democratic and minority voices. South San Antonio is appended to South Texas for a fair representation of party and ethnicity, Even El Paso is able to claim long-standing representation. But not Austin.

Not only have liberal Democrats been robbed of fair representation to the Texas State Board of Education as part of the Travis County voter pool, but urban Black and Hispanic children of Travis County are now paying the price of this democratic oversight with the prospect of an increasingly hostile curriculum.

We’re not lawyers here, but we think there are clear Constitutional principles involved, including the God-given rights of children, affirmed in Brown v. Board, to be treated to educations that are respectful and uplifting, not demeaning to their aspirations of leadership, responsibility, and self-esteem.–gm