Updated Oct. 5
According to unofficial results for the State Board of Education District 11 seat, incumbent Republican Patricia "Pat" Hardy won over Democrat Nancy Bean and Libertarian Craig Sanders, receiving 64.78 percent of the votes cast, with all precincts reporting.
"I'm very pleased with the results," Hardy said. "I think it's a reflection that I've been working hard for my constituents. I think one thing that really helped me is that my opponents in the primary were strong supporters for me in the November election. I'm glad to have four more years."
Hardy said she is excited to start the next term on Jan. 1 so that she can continue to work on existing legislative items as well as new ones.
"House Bill 5 was huge last year and I think it needs a little bit of tweaking," she said. "I also anticipate on spending a lot of time and energy on the standard for English language arts."
Bean tallied 90,754 votes or 31.74 percent and Sanders received 9,926 votes or 3.47 percent.
Incumbent Patricia "Pat" Hardy has held the District 11 seat for 12 years; she was first elected in 2002.
A career educator, Hardy is currently a part-time instructional specialist for the Weatherford Independent School District in Parker County. Before becoming an instructional specialist, she previously fought world history and world geography at Castleberry High School in Fort Worth.
Hardy was instrumental in updating statewide social studies curriculum in 2010.
Challenger Nancy Bean, a democrat, has been an educator since 1993 and served as a counselor for all grade levels.
Bean wants to increase the quality of education statewide by increasing how much is spend on each student, hiring more teachers and reducing class sizes. She also believes that offering universal prekindergarten classes is a worthy investment with a high rate of return for students.
Libertarian Party candidate Craig Sanders believes that universal standards hinder, rather than help, students in the long run. He believes that educators should not prepare students for the workplace, but rather teach them to innovate, create and explore to find their own paths.
Sanders is a computer consultant in Arlington; he chooses to homeschool his children.
District 11 of the State Board of Education covers all of Parker County, most of suburban Tarrant county and the northwest corner of Dallas County. Fifteen members sit on the board statewide. Board members are unpaid for their time.
All results are unofficial until canvassed.
