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Barbara Cargill Named New State Board of Education Chair

For the first time since 2005, the Texas Senate has confirmed someone to serve a full term as head of the State Board of Education. Barbara Cargill, a Republican from The Woodlands, was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry in 2011.

Cargill has supported a measure that requires students to question evolution. StateSen., D-Austin, says Cargill reassured him that she would not allow her religious conservatismto interfere with her leadership of the board.

Caleb Bryant Miller, Texas Tribune /

“I felt like this is someone who will serve the people of Texas as the chair of the State Board of Education better than her predecesssors,” Watson said. “She was certainly answering questions and making promises and commitments better than her predecessors.”

Cargill’s predecessors were Don McLeroy and Gail Lowe, both religious conservatives who failed to win Senate confirmation.

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Nathan Bernier a KUT reporter and the local host during All Things Considered and Marketplace. He grew up in the small mountain town of Nelson, BC, Canada, and worked at commercial news radio stations in Ottawa, Montreal and Boston before starting at KUT in 2008.