Governor Abbott Appoints the Next Commissioner of Education

It was announced that Texas Governor Greg Abbott has tapped Mike Morath to serve as the state's next commissioner of education, said a press release Tuesday. He will succeed Commissioner Michael Williams, who is stepping down at the end of the year.

"As the state's largest educator association, ATPE looks forward to an opportunity to meet with Morath and share our members' input and experiences with him," stated Gary Godsey, ATPE Executive Director. "We anticipate that he will want to pursue innovative approaches to regulations dealing with such issues as charter schools, teacher appraisals, and student testing. We hope that Morath will be the type of commissioner who is receptive to educators' voices in matters of policy and will support local control."

Morath is a business executive with a background in finance. He has been a member of the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) board of trustees since 2011. He also serves on the advisory board of Texans for Education Reform (TER).

According to the press release, this announcement comes just one month after Abbott also selected Morath to chair the new Texas Commission on Next Generation Assessments and Accountability, which the legislature created to recommend changes to our state's student testing and accountability systems. The governor's press release stated that "Morath is a product of Texas public schools" and that he once briefly taught computer science at Garland High School "during a school year when the previous teacher unexpectedly resigned."

There has been much speculation lately as to whether the governor would select an education insider or a reformer/business leader to head the Texas Education Agency going forward. Morath's name was not one that was more widely circulated, but his selection sends another signal that Abbott is very interested in the agenda of the education reform and pro-privatization crowd.

The press release stated that the ATPE has been a strong voice for Texas educators since 1980. It is the leading educators' association in Texas with more than 100,00 members statewide. With its strong collaborative philosophy, ATPE speaks for classroom teachers, administrators, future, retired and para-educators and works to create better opportunities for 5 million public school children. ATPE is the ally and the voice of Texas public school education.