You’ve got to say this for Mary Lou Bruner — at least she’s not afraid to speak her mind.
Bruner is running for a seat on the State Board of Education that represents a chunk of northeast Texas. She’s a retired teacher who’s running on a platform with planks that are common sense and starkly conservative: more administrative support for teachers, more parental involvement with students, promote “conservative curriculum standards aligned with Texas values.”
So nothing too problematic there. But the results of a deep dive from The Texas Tribune into the backgrounds of several State Board of Education candidates make matters a little stickier. Bruner posted the following message to Facebook on October 26, 2015:
Her Facebook page no longer includes the post. But in a statement to the Tribune, she didn’t exactly sound contrite:
“I’m not ashamed of anything that I have ever said,” Bruner said. “If I’m on the State Board of Education, I’m going to speak up for the things that I believe because I have a First Amendment right.”
And she’s got plenty to say on other topics, too, including the “Muslim influence” on schools and textbooks, how climate change is a hoax to destroy American jobs, and the Communist agenda:
Bruner is one of three candidates vying for the District 9 seat. The State Board of Education is responsible for setting curriculum standards and approving textbooks for the state’s public schools.
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This article appears in Feb 10-16, 2016.