Thomas Ratliff

"A lot has been written and said about Texas public schools lately. My message today is simple. Don’t listen to it. Well, at least not ALL of it.?

"If I ran my business the way you people operate your schools, I wouldn't be in business very long!"

"How many of you are baseball fans? How many of you are familiar with the book or the movie called Moneyball?

In the fourth week of this academic year, I would like to borrow and tweak a quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet to describe what is happening in public schools all over Texas, “The State Doth Test Too Much, Methinks.”

Educators and school board members across the state are becoming painfully aware of how much testing the Texas Legislature has inflicted on our local schools and our children.

I am proud to announce a historic shift in the way Texas implements new standards in our
public school classrooms.

Today, the SBOE passed new math standards. What’s historic is when the new standards will be implemented in the classroom. Previously the SBOE adopted new standards and we would hope and pray that the Texas Legislature would adequately fund the
instructional materials that cover the new standards.

(AUSTIN, TX) – The Texas Association of Mid-size Schools comprised of 208 school districts with between 1200 – 5000 students is presenting its top education achievement award to SBOE District 9 Member Thomas Ratliff.

After talking with family, friends, teachers and taxpayers across the district, it is my honor to announce that I will seek re-election to the State Board of Education.

During my first year in office, I have maintained my dedication to take the partisan politics out of the State Board of Education and to work with both sides of the aisle to do what is best for the schoolchildren in Northeast Texas. While we aren’t there yet, I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish so far. I am also proud to be supported by Texas professional teacher associations that together represent over 15,000 teachers in my district. They know that I am staying focused on education, not politics, and doing what’s best for our students.

Guest Editorial

Later this month, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) will release the "accountability" ratings for Texas public schools. The reason I put the word accountability in quotation marks is simple. I don't believe these ratings come anywhere close to telling the whole story to the local communities, taxpayers, parents or voters. Therefore they offer little in the way of true accountability. Let me explain.

Many people across the state are familiar with the terms exemplary, recognized, academically acceptable or academically unacceptable when reading about our public schools. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people have no idea what those words really
mean or don't mean.

There has been a lot of misinformation being reported about Texas’ public schools lately in an effort to “reform”, “streamline” or “improve” them. I would like to cut through the rhetoric and lay out the facts.

The following facts are just a couple of the challenges facing our local schools.

We recommend Thomas Ratliff over incumbent Don McLeroy in the Republican primary for the State Board of Education's District 9 for several reasons. Most important is the fact that the Mount Pleasant resident could move this board beyond its culture-war conflicts.

Parent organization says voters should reject the incumbent and elect a public school parent to stand up for children and support high-quality public schools. 

Thomas Ratliff, Republican candidate for the Texas State Board of Education, today announced the endorsement of State Senator Robert Duncan, Chairman of the Senate State Affairs Committee.

Thomas Ratliff, Republican candidate for the Texas State Board of Education, today criticized the majority of the State Board of Education who voted to cut off public testimony at their January 13th hearing.

Thomas Ratliff released his platform of guiding principles for his campaign and his service on the State Board of Education should he be elected in the March primary election.

Thomas Ratliff, Republican candidate for the Texas State Board of Education, today announced the endorsement of State Representative Jim Pitts, who chairs the House budget-writing committee.

Thomas Ratliff, Republican candidate for the State Board of Education, today questioned why the state board is relying on people from out of state to write the new curriculum for social studies for Texas' public schools.

Ever wonder who decides what your kids are taught in school? It’s not their principals and teachers. Nor is it their school’s superintendent. The Legislature, maybe? Not quite; the Legislature’s responsibility is to write the education code, fund the schools, and keep the state’s commitment to an accountability system. Every once in a while a lawmaker might pass a bill that authorizes Bible classes or requires daily recitation of the pledge of allegiance to the Texas flag, but the Legislature isn’t responsible for curriculum. Okay, then, how about the Texas Education Agency and the commissioner of education? Sounds right, but you’re wrong again. The TEA’s role is simply (or not so simply) to administer the education code.