Conservative may be in running to lead schools board Talk of Dunbar's potential role draws cheers, jeers

Conservative Christian may be in running to lead state education board

Cynthia Dunbar, R-Richmond, who advocated more Christianity in the public square last year with the publication of her book, One Nation Under God, is among those that Gov. Rick Perry is considering to lead the State Board of Education, some of her colleagues say.

Critics are gasping and allies are cheering over speculation that Dunbar, a lawyer, could win a promotion to the leadership spot.

“It would certainly cause angst among the same members of the pagan left that rejected Don McLeroy because he was a man of faith,” said David Bradley, R-Beaumont, one of the seven socially conservative members on the 15-person board.

Perry’s office declined to comment until “a final decision is made.”

“I have heard that Cynthia Dunbar is the one that the governor seems to be considering,” board member Patricia Hardy, R-Fort Worth, said. “Cynthia is very bright, and she is very articulate. She is a quick study. ... I find her with a good sense of humor. I like her.”

But Hardy fears that Dunbar’s appointment would heighten tension and draw more negative attention for the board. “She has been so outspoken that she will draw the ire of a great number of people and will give the board just the kind of publicity that we don’t need,” Hardy said.

Christian government

In a book published last year, Dunbar argued the country’s founding fathers created “an emphatically Christian government” and that government should be guided by a “biblical litmus test.” She endorses a belief system that requires “any person desiring to govern have a sincere knowledge and appreciation for the Word of God in order to rightly govern.”

Also in the book, she calls public education a “subtly deceptive tool of perversion.”

The establishment of public schools is unconstitutional and even “tyrannical,” she wrote, because it threatens the authority of families, granted by God through Scripture, to direct the instruction of their children.

Dunbar home-schooled her own children.

Dunbar, whose district runs from outside Houston to Austin, said she expresses her views so constituents know exactly where she stands.

“I believe constituents deserve to know our thoughts, which is why I have always been boldly transparent,” she said.

But if she is chosen to chair the board, Dunbar said, she would “play a different role” by focusing on leadership. She is confident she could bring the various board factions together.

“I would strive to be just, merciful and humble in my service,” Dunbar said of a potential promotion to board chair.

National attention

The Texas Senate six weeks ago refused to confirm Perry’s appointment of McLeroy, R-Bryan, whose leadership attracted national attention for the board’s handling of evolution while adopting new science curriculum standards.

Perry’s appointment of Dunbar would send a statement “that the governor shares her shocking hostility toward public education,” said Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, an organization that monitors the State Board of Education.

“Just as bad, he would be siding with a faction of self-righteous politicians on the board who have made it crystal clear that they believe the only real Christians are the ones who agree with them,” Miller said. “If the governor really decides that selling out our kids like this is a good re-election strategy, then this state has an even bigger problem than we thought.”

Whoever Perry selects will fill the duration of McLeroy’s term and continue to lead the board until another gubernatorial appointment in 2011.

Several of the board’s other socially conservative Republicans have work or family conflicts that would make it hard for them to take on the board chairman responsibilities, Bradley said.

“I think it’s down to Cynthia or Gail (Lowe),” he said.

Lowe, R-Lampasas, calls herself “a background kind of person” who is not angling for the job. “If I were asked, I would give it consideration, certainly, but I’m not pursuing it, that’s for sure,” she said.

Craig gains support

Hardy, of Fort Worth, wants Perry to elevate Bob Craig, R-Lubbock, to the chairman’s seat. But such an appointment would not sit well with hard-core conservatives.

“Bob Craig would create difficulty for Perry because he worked against every initiative that was important to the governor, and he represents the education establishment — the status quo. The only solution is more spending,” Bradley said. “Bob voted against charter schools and school choice. He worked diligently to water down the increased requirements of four years of math and four years of science.”

Hardy counters that Craig, a lawyer, would make a solid choice because he is a former school board president and possesses an even-keeled temperament. “His kids went to Texas public schools and they teach in Texas public schools. He has a good resume for being chairman of the Texas State Board of Education,” she said.

Hardy conceded she would be surprised if Perry chooses the Lubbock Republican.

“He assumes it would antagonize the far right,” said Hardy, whose own GOP loyalties go back to Barry Goldwater’s 1964 presidential run. “Where’s the far right going to go? They still will have a loyalty to Perry because of who Perry is so they will never jump over to the (Kay Bailey) Hutchison side just because he’s done that.”

One of the board’s more pressing tasks involves the adoption of new social studies curriculum standards for Texas public school children.

“That’s a huge issue,” said Bradley, who expects efforts to de-emphasize the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. “We will be working to making sure students are exposed to our beginnings and the fundamentals of our Republic, which we are losing,” he said.

gscharrer@express-news.net