By Bill Ames
Texas Insider Report: DALLAS Texas Ken Paxton Jodie Laubenberg Cathie Adams Peggy Venable Tim Lambert.
Everybodys favorite and most respected Texas conservatives. They ALL endorse TINCY 
MILLER in the DISTRICT 12 State Board of Education (SBOE) RUNOFF ELECTION.
And dont forget to add Jim Jackson Will Hartnett Roger Staubach John Carona Kenneth Sheets & Cindy Burkett to the list.
It is noteworthy …… how different these are from the backroom endorsements of Millers opponent by unnamed vetters" who seemingly promote the negative personal agendas of a few overzealous supporters.
Rather Tincy Millers endorsers are known conservative professionals recognizing Mrs. Miller for her contributions as a 26 year veteran of the SBOE as well as her qualifications to continue to navigate the politically-charged minefield of SBOE negotiations. They recognize Tincy Miller as the clearly superior candidate for SBOE District 12.
I have been involved with SBOE issues for ten years. I know well that an SBOE representative cannot operate in a vacuum. Contacts made over the years allow a productive member to influence other SBOE members state legislators and senators and even the governor. As a 26 year member four years of which were spent as SBOE chairman Tincy Miller has that experience to continue to move public education forward in Texas.
Lets review some examples.
READING: Tincy Miller has utilized her Masters degree in reading to Texas advantage. She influenced the Texas legislature to introduce and pass the first dyslexia law in the nation to identify and support children with dyslexia and related reading disorders. She also influenced the legislature to pass the first licensure law for Dyslexia
instructors.
In the late 1990s Tincy Miller used her influence on the SBOE to promote the first phonics-based reading curriculum in the history of the state. Then in 2003 as chairman of the SBOE and a featured speaker at the Texas Republican State Convention she reported that 98 of the first class of third graders to take the state phonics-based reading test passed. The phonics curriculum worked and Ms. Miller was instrumental in further improving the reading curriculum in a 2007-2008 standards update.
By contrast Ms. Millers runoff opponent has no college degree and her position on reading only parrots Millers phonics approach..
TEXTBOOK FUND: During her 26 years on the SBOE Tincy Miller has doggedly used her influence with the state legislature to protect the Childrens Textbook Fund from being raided by moderate and leftist politicians. The $24 billion fund is considered one of the best educational endowment funds in the nation. District 12 incumbent George Clayton favors diverting the fund for other purposes.
TEXTBOOK EXTERNAL MANAGERS: Using her Texas Senate contacts Ms. Miller lobbied for the removal of textbook external managers who were skimming the Childrens Textbook Fund while adding no value. Accepting her recommendation the Senate directed her as SBOE chairman to remove the textbook external managers. Four months later they were gone.
SCIENCE: When the SBOE was gridlocked over the evolution/intelligent design issue with evolution to be presented as fact Tincy Miller brokered a compromise that allowed for evolution theory to be challenged in classroom discussion. The compromise language was overwhelmingly adopted by a previously divided partisan SBOE.
SCIENCE TEXTBOOKS: In 2001 an environmental science textbook proposed for SBOE approval contained anti-American anti-Christian dogma. Material in the book included:
Some people think we need a world government to deal with the many complex issues confronting human society.
Scriptural instruction to be good stewards of the Creation has thus far not moderated Christian ruthlessness towards our environment.
Tincy Miller was a strong influence in the SBOEs rejection of that textbook.
U.S.HISTORY: In the 2009-2010 contentious development of U.S. history standards Tincy Millers vote was always one of the conservative majoritys eight to seven vote that adopted many of the proposed amendments. These amendments changed a group of educators contemptuous negative view of history to a balanced positive story that
will make our students proud to be Americans. textbook
Millers view of history includes patriotism the free enterprise system our founding fathers the Constitution the Declaration of Independence our Judeo-Christian heritage and American Exceptionalism. Strangely Mrs. Millers runoff opponent has publicly characterized the Pilgrims as communists".
HEALTH: Health standards are scheduled to be addressed by the SBOE in 2013. Tincy Miller sees the need to uphold traditional definitions of marriage family and abstinence-based education. In order to uphold these values SBOE District 12 conservatives will require a well-funded experienced candidate to counter the competing values of incumbent write-in candidate George Clayton in the November election.
These examples demonstrate that Tincy Millers experience is the overriding factor in this race. District 12 conservatives need to elect a representative whose experience will allow her to be immediately effective rather than electing a backbencher who will spend her term learning the process.
Early voting runs from Monday July 23 through Friday July 27. The election is Tuesday July 31.
Bill Ames is an education activist who lives in Dallas. His experience working with SBOE issues is documented in his book TEXAS TROUNCES THE LEFTS WAR ON HISTORY. The book can be reviewed and purchased at www.WNAenterprises.com.
