Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

State Board of Education member Don McLeroy of Bryan.

AUSTIN – State Board of Education member Don McLeroy of Bryan was named chairman of the panel by Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday, giving a boost to the social conservative bloc on the board.

Dr. McLeroy, a Republican, will preside over a 15-member board, which today will hold its first public meeting since February.

"I really appreciate the governor putting his confidence in me," Dr. McLeroy said. "We have some very important issues ahead of us in the next few years, and I look forward to working on those issues with the other members of the board."

A member of the panel for the last 8 ½ years, the Bryan dentist will succeed outgoing chairwoman Geraldine Miller of Dallas, who had to relinquish the post because of term limits.

While board members are elected from regional districts, the chairman is appointed by the governor.

Dr. McLeroy is one of seven members – all Republicans – who are generally identified with social conservatives and who often vote together on key issues such as textbook selection. There are also five Democrats and three moderate Republicans on the panel.

Board members are approaching a series of important decisions over the next two years as they revise curriculum standards for English, reading and writing later this year, and for science next year. The discussions about science standards are expected to trigger new debate over the coverage of evolution in biology and other science courses.

"The most important area of responsibility for the board is setting the curriculum standards for our schools," Dr. McLeroy said. "If we can improve standards and get them up to where they need to be, we can really help teachers in the classroom."

Conservative groups applauded the selection, but not everyone was pleased with the new chairman.

Texas Freedom Network president Kathy Miller, whose group advocates for the strict separation of church and state, said Mr. Perry deserves an "F" for appointing "a clear ideologue who has repeatedly put his own personal and political agendas ahead of sound science, good health and solid textbooks for students."

She noted that in 2003, Dr. McLeroy was one of four board members who voted against proposed high school biology textbooks because he felt their coverage of evolution was "too dogmatic" and did not include possible flaws in Charles Darwin's theory of how life on Earth evolved from lower forms.

"Dr. McLeroy will now be in charge of the board's scheduled revision of the state's science curriculum standards, an area where he has already cast his lot with extremists who want to censor what our schoolchildren learn," said Ms. Miller, whose group frequently battles social conservatives over textbooks and other issues.

But Dr. McLeroy said his vote on the biology books had nothing to do with censorship or religion and was based on "good science."

"It is wrong to teach opinion as fact," he said.

Regarding his religious beliefs, he said, "I'm a very religious guy, and I've taught Sunday school for several years. It's important to me."

But, he added, as a member of the board he has focused his attention on education policy for Texas schools and what is in students' best interests.

Dr. McLeroy received a $20,000 contribution from San Antonio millionaire James Leininger, a leading advocate of private school vouchers, in his first race for the board in 1998. But he has not received any money from Dr. Leininger in his last two campaigns, in 2002 and 2006.

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DON McLEROY

Background: A Bryan dentist and Republican first elected to the education board in 1998; re-elected in 2002 and 2006. His board district runs from Bryan up through East Texas to the Oklahoma border, including part of Collin County. He previously served on the Bryan school board.

Voting record: One of the board members aligned with social conservative groups known for their strong stands on evolution, sexual abstinence and other heated topics covered in textbooks. One of four board members who voted against current high school biology books because of their failure to list weaknesses in the theory of evolution.

Duties of the new chairman: Will appoint state board chairs and committees, and help decide the agendas for future board meetings. In coming months, he will preside over board deliberations on new curriculum standards for English, reading and writing. Science standards are scheduled to be revised next year. The board will also implement education laws passed by the Legislature, including new textbook selection procedures and physical education requirements for elementary and middle school students.