Time to celebrate… temporarily.

Two of the most conservative members of the Utah Board of Education are planning to step down from their positions.

Lisa Cummins and Alisa Ellis, who will leave the board in June, fought against educating students about climate change and evolution. They opposed comprehensive sex education, advocating instead for abstinence-only lessons, despite experts saying such a curriculum would be counterproductive and harmful. They also claimed the adoption of national math and English standards would be a form of socialism.

Good riddance to two people who failed the students of Utah.

The departures are likely to shift the ideological balance of the panel that oversees the state’s public schools. Currently, five members of the 15-person board could be considered right-leaning, while three are left-leaning. The rest fall somewhere in the middle. With two conservative members leaving, the board could move more to the center.

Keep in mind that the governor, who will nominate their replacements, is a Republican. So is the majority of the State Senate, which will have to confirm those nominees. But in 2020, the entire board will be up for re-election for another four-year term, including whoever the new people are.

There’s an opportunity for the governor to select teachers and policy wonks instead of right-wing ideologues who don’t actually want children to be educated. Unfortunately, you can’t trust a Republican with selecting people who deserve to be in those seats. So Utah’s education system will likely remain under the control of people who think science is a giant conspiracy.

(Thanks to Brian for the link)

