Special to the Press
The East Williamson County Republican Club will hear from the State Board of Education at the club’s next meeting.
State Board of Education member Tom Maynard will be the guest speaker at the Jan. 18 meeting, which will be held at Sirloin Stockade in Taylor.
“We believe that at this critical juncture, having our elected State Board of Education member speak, answer our questions and provide insight as to how we can make a difference will be beneficial,” said East Williamson County Republican President Annette Maruska.
The SBOE is tasked with developing instructional standards, which are the basis of curriculum, instructional materials and assessments along with a number of other rule-making functions. The board also has a constitutional duty to manage the state’s $54 billion public education endowment, the Permanent School Fund. The board is also the final approval on new charter schools and professional credentialing rules.
“We are all concerned about our kids’ and grandkids’ education, what they are and are not being taught,” Maruska said.
Most recently, the SBOE approved the rules for HB 900, the law that strengthens control over library content and is amid a rulemaking process for HB 1605, a historic shift in the board’s instructional material adoption standards and procedures.
Maynard figured prominently in actions related to the Permanent School Fund, working alongside legislators and others to transform the fund’s governance structure to operate more like the private sector. He also led efforts to preserve the fund’s ability to guarantee school district’s bonds after IRS regulations had stymied the program.
Maynard is currently serving his fourth term. Members of the 15-member board serve four-year terms, each representing about 1.9 million Texans in carrying on the work for some 5.5 million Texas public school students in more than 1,200 school districts and charter schools. District 10 includes 27 counties.
Maynard holds the distinction of being the only member of the current board who has served as both a classroom teacher and a local school board trustee. He served for 13 years as a classroom agricultural educator before becoming executive director of the state’s largest career and technical student organization, the Texas FFA Association, which provides support for agricultural science instruction. He served two terms on a local school board prior to being elected to the State Board of Education. Maynard currently chairs the board’s committee on school finance and permanent school fund, and previously chaired the committee on instruction. He also chairs the Permanent School Fund Corporation board of directors.
The meeting begins at 6 p.m. for a meal and social hour. The program begins at 7 p.m.
