Ballot spotlight: Texas Railroad Commissioner

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With just about 4 months until the midterm general election, it’s important as supporters of public education to focus on the different statewide offices and thoughtfully consider their role in public education. The Railroad Commission (RRC) doesn’t get a lot of mainstream press, but it plays a hidden and essential role for public education. The Texas AFT Committee on Political Education (COPE) has endorsed Jon Rosenthal for Railroad Commissioner. 

Since 1974, through oil and gas production taxes, the RRC has contributed over $32.6 billion to public education. These funds go directly to the Texas Permanent School Fund (PSF), which allocates funds to pay for classroom resources, educator salaries, and school building projects across the state. In 2018, the RRC launched the Energy Education Workforce Initiative, aimed at connecting students with the education and job pathways into the oil and gas sector. The department also provides resources for students and educators to promote knowledge of energy sources. The Railroad Commission is also a frequent advocate for the implementation of certain STEM material into curricula.  

In recent years, certain commissioners have engaged in some political foul play outside the scope of their office. In 2023, Commissioner Wayne Christian sent a letter to the SBOE’s then Chair, Kevin Ellis, advocating against recommended science textbooks that would educate students on climate change and different renewable energy sources. In the letter, Christian states adopting these textbooks into curriculums would push a “woke environmentalist agenda” that would harm the success of the fossil fuel industry, which has been a “key ingredient in our success as Americans.”  

It’s no surprise, then, that Christian has thrown his support behind fellow Republican Bo French in the general election. French delivered an upset in the GOP primary runoffs in May, beating incumbent Jim Wright. French, ‘anti-woke’ himself, is notorious for his history of berating immigrants and Muslims, as well as calling for the absurd and ridiculous “deportation of 100 million people.” French infamously criticized Fort Worth ISD’s contracting of the Learning for Justice training, which aimed to equip teachers with the resources to create welcoming classrooms, calling it “radical” and contending that “teachers are engaging in unscientific role play fantasies with kids then hiding them from parents.” Bo French is dangerously anti-education and if elected, would weaponize the RRC against his own grievances. 

Texas AFT-endorsed candidate Jon Rosenthal provides a different model. With over 25 years of engineering experience, Rosenthal has pushed state leaders to address school funding gaps that have resulted in the defunding of ISDs across Texas. He authored HB 362, which would have prevented school districts from using legal loopholes to assign students to uncertified teachers; HB 367, which simplifies the system that students take to verify excused absences; HB 2469, which prevents public and charter schools from blocking student access to helpful websites; and HB 3596, which would have mandated annual electrocardiograms for public school student athletes to help prevent cardiac arrests. 

The contrast between the two candidates is clear. French, who has been condemned by members of his own party, including Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Governor Greg Abbott, has spent most of his campaign stoking controversial culture wars instead of focusing on the Commission's regulatory work. Hawk Dunlap, who ran against French in the primary, crossed party lines to endorse in Rosenthal.  

Rosenthal has used his time in office to address and resolve various issues impacting public education. The Railroad Commission needs a commissioner who understands that decisions made in this “concealed” office ripple directly into educational institutions across Texas.

Election day is November 3, and October 5 is the deadline to register to vote.