By J. Lyn Carl, GalleryWatch.com
Austin, TX – Embattled State Board of Education Chair nominee Geraldine "Tincy" Miller was confirmed by the Texas Senate today, but not without opposition from Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos (D-Austin).
Appointed in 1984, Miller has been accused by some member of the legislature as having sided with the "Radical Right" in her decisions as a member of the board. She also has been criticized for her role in helping defeat former Chair Grace Shore of Longview. Shore was defeated in the Republican primary last year with help from campaign contributions from a political action committee reportedly created by Miller.
Today on the Senate floor, Barrientos moved to sever Miller's name from the list of nominees.
Barrientos said he has served on both the Education and Nominations committees for half of his legislative career. Noting public education is a priority of the legislature, he said the Senate's role of advice and consent to nominations of the governor should not be downplayed.
"I think that we should advise our governor that by nominating this individual to chair the State Board of Education is sending the wrong message to the people of Texas and its 4,100,000 children in our schools, about how public education will be conducted in Texas," said Barrientos.
He said he opposes Miller's nomination "in hopes that the Senate does not join in sending that same wrong message."
The Austin Democrat noted a controversy in the management of the Permanent School Fund, a $16 billion trust fund that produces $700 million annually to help fund public education. He said the board delegated decisions on the fund to private managers who have been the subject of "investigation after investigation" by state auditors and legislative committees and have resulted in criminal indictments by the Travis County District Attorney's Office.
Miller was member of board during that time, said Barrientos, and thus he said she "did not give the trust fund the best protection possible."
Barrientos also said Miller "consistently voted against the former chair," Grace Shore, regarding management of the Permanent School Fund, "thus aligning herself with others who were the target of investigations and indictments."
The Austin senator also criticized Miller for the "manner in which the defeat (of Shore) was engineered." He accused Miller of sending out one mailer that falsely accused Shore, and another supporting Shore's opponent. Barrientos said Shore's opponent said the mailer not only damaged Shore's reputation but her own as well.
Nominations Committee Chair Sen. Jon Lindsay (R-Houston) countered saying that Miller had appeared before his committee and answered all the questions asked of her and thus he urged her confirmation.
Miller was confirmed by a vote of 24-6. Confirmation of the appointment requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate, or 21 of 31 senators if all members are present. Voting against the confirmation, in addition to Barrientos, were Sens. Mario Gallegos (D-Houston), Juan Hinojosa (D-McAllen), Bill Ratliff (R-Mount Pleasant), Eliot Shapleigh (D-El Paso) and Leticia Van de Putte (D-San Antonio).