The State Board of Education will remain in conservative hands after Tuesday night’s election, even as a Democrat narrowly eked out a victory in District 1, which represents a swath of West and Central Texas, including El Paso and a small portion of Bexar County.
Republican candidate Michael Stevens, a San Antonio Independent School District administrator, took an early lead in the race Tuesday night, which narrowed in the wee hours of Wednesday morning when El Paso school communications professional Gustavo Reveles took the lead.
As of Wednesday afternoon, with 99% of polling locations reporting, Reveles held a narrow lead with 50.92% of the votes, while Stevens carried 49.08%.
In an interview Wednesday, Reveles declared victory and said he would be working to represent all constituents, even those who voted for his opponent.
“I’m making a pledge to really represent the entire region,” he said. “My platform has been one that really stresses the importance of representing every voice … and that doesn’t mean that I’ll exclude those that do not align with my beliefs.”
Stevens, who hasn’t yet officially conceded the race, said he was proud of the campaign he ran — and the improved voter response compared to the last time he ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2022.
“I’m very excited and proud of my campaign, my team,” he said. “The other part of me is disappointed. I got into this race as an educator, because the board lacks that actual educator voice.”
“Missing out on that opportunity to provide the board with some relevant educator experience and perspective is disheartening,” Stevens added.
When all votes are in, he will respect the outcome of the vote, he said Wednesday.
Whoever makes up the board, Stevens said he would advise them to spend more time in educational environments before making pivotal decisions.
“Spend some time in the classroom, make time to talk with teachers and find out what their perspective is,” he said. “Our teachers are supposed to be the content experts.”
Reveles will join incumbent Marisa B. Pérez-Díaz, who ran unchallenged for her District 3 seat, which encompasses the entire city of San Antonio.
Pérez-Díaz is the most senior Democrat on the State Board of Education and was first elected to her position in 2012.
The new board will help shape Texas education by setting curriculum standards, approving charter school applications and altering graduation requirements, among other responsibilities.
Debates and positions on those issues have landed the board in hot water over the years, including an ongoing debate over a state-authored curriculum dubbed Bluebonnet Learning that some see as having a Christian bias.
Reveles said Wednesday that working on aligning curriculum with what is happening in the classroom is among his top priorities as he looks toward his term on the board.
“We need to make sure to develop a curriculum that focuses on academics, focuses on pedagogy, and really steps away from politics and personal beliefs,” he said. “It is my belief that the state curriculum should really respect the beliefs, backgrounds and states of being for every Texan, and shouldn’t favor one Texan over another.”
While debates over education issues ranging from school vouchers to the funding of school systems have become wedge issues in other races, both candidates found common ground in the run-up to the election, differing only slightly on key issues.
Reveles sees that tenor as a model for how elections should be handled.
“I have had a fruitful and amicable campaign, and I think that’s a model for other people to follow when it comes to running an election,” he said. “I congratulate him on a job well done in getting the support of so many Texans, and really consider that the students he serves are lucky to have him.”
Stevens said he was grateful for the record number of voters that turned out Tuesday.
“It was a great race, it was a close race,” he said. “Even if it doesn’t go my way, I am happy that people got out and voted.”
Looking to the future, Stevens said he would consider running again but would need to focus on educating voters, who often vote based on party affiliation, on the positions and qualifications required for the seat.
In the meantime, Stevens said he will continue to work to achieve the goals he set out in his campaign, including removing the state standardized test from graduation requirements and shifting to funding schools based on enrollment rather than attendance. Along with his wife, who is a dyslexia therapist, he has already contacted state lawmakers who were reelected, he said.
“Education is really what our life is built around,” he said. “We’ve already been in touch with several state reps that were re-elected yesterday, and we do have a couple of education items that we want to bring before them in hopes that they get to the House floor the next session.”
