El Pasoan Gustavo Revelez and Michael “Travis” Stevens of Helotes, a San Antonio suburb, are facing off in the Nov. 5 Texas State Board of Education District 1 election.
The district includes much of West and South Central Texas, including El Paso.
Reveles, 49, is a Democrat and works as communications director for the Canutillo Independent School District.
He spent 14 years as a journalist covering education and local government for the El Paso Times and Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and then worked as communications director for the El Paso Independent School District.
Now, Reveles wants to represent the “voices of the border” when the commission makes decisions that affect public education across the state. He has received endorsements from the Texas American Federation of Teachers and the Texas Teachers Association.
Mr. Stevens, 43, is a Republican candidate for superintendent of the San Antonio Independent School District.
Stevens has more than 14 years of experience in the education field in a variety of positions from teacher to administrator.
The winner will replace SBOE member Melissa Ortega of El Paso, who decided not to seek re-election. Ortega, a Democrat, defeated Stevens in 2022.
Stevens began her career as an English teacher at the Henry Ford Academy Alameda School of Art + Design, a charter school in San Antonio.
Now, he wants to bring an educator’s perspective to the board.
A pro-secession group known as “Take Back Texas” previously listed Stevens as a candidate who signed the Texas First Pledge and promised to advance legislation to help Texas become an independent state.
Stevens posted on Facebook on Oct. 9 that he is not affiliated with the organization and does not agree with their views.
Both candidates ran unopposed in the March 5 primary election.
The SBOE debates how evolution and climate change are taught in schools, bans school libraries from owning books deemed “sexually explicit,” and restricts reading for kindergarten through fifth grade. It has become the center of culture war controversy because it is sometimes considered a language. Art curriculum that includes Biblical teachings.
The board’s duties include setting state curriculum standards, reviewing and adopting educational materials, establishing graduation requirements, and overseeing the Texas Permanent School Fund, an endowment established in 1845 to promote public education. Included.
District 1 spans 30 counties from west to south-central Texas, including Bexar, El Paso, Atascosa, Hudspeth, Webb, Medina, Uvalde, Val Verde, and Pecos counties. It covers more than 900 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border and is home to diverse communities ranging from urban centers to remote farming communities.
SBOE members serve two- or four-year terms and represent approximately 1.8 million Texans. Candidates are running for four-year terms on the board.
Early voting will be held from October 21st to November 1st, with voting day being November 5th.
Below is an overview of the candidates and their positions on issues affecting public education in Texas.
curriculum
Both Levels and Stevens strongly emphasized the need for a diverse curriculum in Texas.
If elected, Reveles said he wants to ensure the board adopts a history curriculum that also reflects the experiences of LGTQ communities, people of color, immigrants and other marginalized groups.
“There have been efforts by some extremist members of the SBOE to silence the experiences of minorities in Texas,” Revels said. “Texas has a proud tradition of minority influence…and we must ensure that that experience is reflected in the approval and defense of textbook content.”
Stevens said he wants the state curriculum to show multiple perspectives and not shy away from showing the ugly parts of history.
“We need to be in history and not be afraid to teach the facts,” Stevens said. “We’re not ignoring things because it might seem too harsh or it might look like someone was an aggressor or someone was a master.”
Both candidates said they oppose incorporating religion into Texas’ public school curriculum.
“We need to respect the differences between our students and recognize that our classrooms include students from a variety of backgrounds and religions,” Revels said. “Students should be able to display their religion and be proud of it, but I don’t think it has to be part of the curriculum that is imposed.”
“Texas has a very diverse population, and with that comes a very diverse range of belief systems. If you want a religious, faith-based instructional environment, there are many private schools that can provide that. Yes…but it’s not part of the public school curriculum.”
test
Both candidates said they want to reduce the state’s emphasis on standardized tests to determine whether students advance or graduate.
The SBOE can set graduation requirements, but it will be up to the Texas Legislature to eliminate standardized tests under the Foundation High School Program.
Reveles said the state needs to develop an evaluation system that uses tests along with several other factors to determine whether a student should advance.
“The way[the test]is measured and administered is intended to punish school districts like here in El Paso and along the U.S.-Mexico border. So we want to make sure that our students are evaluated in a fair way. We need to make sure we create opportunities,” Revels said.
Stevens said he feels the quality of education in Texas is declining because of the emphasis on testing.
“We’re losing that rigor in instruction and content because teachers and schools are afraid of testing, which is a major component of school evaluation,” Stevens said. spoke.
Stevens said states should stop using standardized tests altogether to determine whether students should attend college and instead focus on grades and other indicators of student success. said.
funding
Texas schools are funded based on enrollment and attendance. The state Legislature has not increased the state’s base per-student allocation since 2019.
Both candidates agreed that Texas schools are underfunded.
Although SBOE member states have no control over basic allocations, Mr. Leveles has used his position to increase funding for public education and to encourage parents to use state funds to pay for private schools. He said he wanted to advocate against voucher programs that would allow this.
“School districts across the state, especially neighboring school districts, are struggling to balance their budgets and families are struggling to make ends meet. Holding a school hostage for any reason is a crime,” Revels said.
Stevens said he doesn’t have a stance on vouchers.
“I remain neutral when it comes to vouchers. I don’t believe it will be voted on at the SBOE,” Stevens said.
charter school
Reveles and Stevens said they are supporters of the school choice movement, which allows students and families to choose the schools they attend and the type of education they receive.
The candidates also said there should be stricter requirements for charter schools, which have drawn criticism for pulling students away from traditional public schools and not providing them with the same resources.
The SBOE has the authority to deny charter school applications approved by the school board.
Reveles said the board should suspend approval of new charter schools until it can create a system that can reliably provide the same services and resources as traditional public schools.
“There’s a place for charter education. There just needs to be equity and the expectations that we have for traditional public schools,” Revels said.
Stevens also said he wants to make the licensing process more rigorous to ensure charter schools can provide the same services and resources as traditional public schools.
“We need to make sure we hold these schools accountable for the education of the students they enroll and ensure they are set up for long-term success,” Stevens said. said.