Because of redistricting, all 15 seats on the Texas State Board of Education will be up for grabs in the November 2012 elections. The results of those elections will determine whether the religious right’s corrosive influence over public education will weaken or grow as the board considers what the next generation of public school students in Texas will learn about sex education, social studies, science and other subjects. We plan to publish on TFN Insider candidate announcements for a seat on the SBOE. We will publish announcements in no particular order, and their publication does not constitute any sort of endorsement by TFN. We will redact requests for contributions or mentions of fundraising events from the announcements, but we will provide links to the candidates’ websites (if available).
Donna Bahorich, District 6, R-Houston
(Current District 6 Board Member: Terri Leo, R-Spring)
Donna Bahorich is seeking the SBOE District 6 seat that is currently held by Terri Leo, R-Spring. Leo is not seeking re-election. The following is from Bahorich’s campaign website. You can see an updated list of SBOE candidates here.
Donna Bahorich has a demonstrated record of success in business, education and political activism. It is her experience and history of success in each of these areas that makes Donna uniquely qualified to serve as your next member on the Texas State Board of Education.
After graduating from Virginia Tech with a Bachelors of Science degree in Financial Management, Donna began a career in the telecommunications industry, first at Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company and then at Mountain Bell, where she rose through the ranks, earning recognition and promotions for her performance. During her professional career Donna negotiated multi-million dollar contracts, led the development of software programs to track expenditures of over $700 million and gained experience in the forecasting and monitoring of a $40 million corporate budget. Her performance earned her a place in the top 5 of 317 managers at Mountain Bell. Donna left Mountain Bell to raise a family with her husband Mike.
In 1990, Donna earned a Masters of Arts in Counseling from Liberty University before founding Home Ed Plus, now a non-profit organization offering supplemental classes for homeschool families. During its 14-year history, she has served as the founder, administrator, and board member.
Donna Bahorich plunged wholeheartedly into political volunteerism in 2004 with her work for the Harris County Republican Party (HCRP). Soon after she began, Donna was asked to head the volunteer effort required each day to support the GOP headquarters. She was proud to be a member of the 2004 Mighty Texas Strike Force deployed to Columbus, Ohio to secure a Republican victory.
Just what we need for the SBOE. Another Liberty University theocratic home-schooler in charge of public education in Texas. Good gracious!
I agree. That is pretty sick. It would be like putting Hitler in charge of the local Jewish community center.
Folks. I am going to be out of commission for a while because my PC is trying to die on me. It is pretty old. Just for a moment, my daughter is letting me use her MAC laptop. If I do not see you again until the end of the holidays, I would like to wish a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, etc. to all of you.
And where in this write up is anything regarding her qualifications to be making decisions on education in the state of Texas? Why does she think she’s qualified to sit on a state board of education?
Well, the good news is her VaTech degree was in Financial Management and not Engineering. This does provide a marginal reduction in my initial panic level. Contrariwise, “top 5 of 317 managers at Mountain Bell” rings a slightly different alarm bell. It was Pacific Bell that inspired Scott Adams to start Dilbert; I’m not sure how much different the corporate cultures were. Anyone in the telco world care to share insights?
Liberty homeschooler still means holding at Very Silly Party for the present.
Terri Leo said:”Donna Bahorich will uphold conservative ideals in order to provide teachers and students with error-free and academically sound instructional materials.
Donna Bahorich will only vote for Health textbooks that uphold traditional definitions of marriage and family and that are abstinence-based.”
Her bio reads: “Donna is on the pastor’s council at her church and teaches church members about applying spiritual gifts and talents to serve in outreach to the community. ”
How comforting.
http://blog.chron.com/texaspolitics/2011/12/terri-leo-hopes-to-hand-pick-her-successor/
Bahoric has said she will focus on three primary issues as a Board member including oversight of the Permanent School Fund, emphasizing the need for an abstinence-based approach to sex education in textbooks and “instilling a sense of pride in American citizenship in students graduating form the public school system.”
It appears that she wants to continue the failed “abstinence-base” sex education that has resulted in one of the highest a teen pregnancy rates in the country.
Is the translation of “instilling a sense of pride in American citizenship” mean promoting a sanitized history?
Wow, just because a person has faith and values means you can launch a verbal assault on her? How about you look at the overall qualifications of a candidate? I personally know her and have found her to be a person of balance and a woman of her word. What a refreshing change compared to most of the politicians we see…you naysayers would be better served to stick to the issues instead of spewing falsehoods and negativity…liberalism fails miserably, let’s keep it out of Texas! Vote4Donna!