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SBOE Member Says He Hopes His Side Loses School Finance Trial

State of Texas
State Board of Education member Thomas Ratliff.

Thomas Ratliff, a Republican seated on the State Board of Education, which is one of the defendants in the Texas school finance trial, says he hopes his side loses in the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of how schools are funded in the state.

"I think we go back to the drawing board and put the school finance system back together without all the bubble gum and bailing wire we’ve added to it," Ratliff said. "The system is so out of whack that we’ve got A, big disparities; B, inefficient distribution system; and an inadequate funding level."

Ratliff said he especially worries how smaller school districts are going to survive once the new curriculum endorsements and graduation requirements take effect.

"My biggest concern is the 1-A to 3-A school districts and their ability to offer much of any of these endorsements because of manpower limitations or funding limitations especially in math," Ratliff said.

Ryan started his radio career in 2002 working for Austin’s News Radio KLBJ-AM as a show producer for the station's organic gardening shows. This slowly evolved into a role as the morning show producer and later as the group’s executive producer.