April 24, 2015 4:45 PM

KR: The Next Chair: The most popular person on SBOE these days

As members of the SBOE await an interim appointment to replace Chair Barbara Cargill, Quorum Report's longtime education reporter takes a look at what the appointment will mean for Gov. Abbott and the education community at large

Members of the State Board of Education, including Chair Barbara Cargill, have begun to talk quite a bit about “The Next Chair” as the person who will lead the charge when the board takes on its next challenges.

The Next Chair is, obviously, shorthand for whomever will be the next leader of the SOBE. Of all appointments Gov. Greg Abbott can make, the regents of the University of Texas may be the most watched, but the chair of SBOE is considered by many as a litmus test of conservatism.

Cargill’s term expired in January. She cannot run for another term. At one point last Friday, Cargill caught herself as she discussed an item for the July SBOE agenda, acknowledging such a decision could be the decision of “the next chair.”

By Kimberly Reeves