(The Center Square)- Arizona Republicans and Democrats are running for state superintendent of public instruction to shape education policy.
On the Republican side, incumbent Tom Horne and state Treasurer Kimberly Yee are competing, while on the Democratic side, certified behavior analyst Brett Matthew Newby is running against Teresa Leyba Ruiz, the former president of Glendale Community College in Maricopa County.
The primary elections for these races will occur on July 21. Early voting began June 24.
Horne, who has been the superintendent of public instruction since 2023, told The Center Square that he is “the only one in statewide elective office who's fighting” back against the left-wing craziness.
He said that, as superintendent, Arizona schools have improved their academics. The superintendent highlighted his success in helping underperforming schools improve academically and in expanding the state’s career technical education.
Horne has been in this position for nearly 12 years, first serving from 2003 to 2011.
Horne said under his leadership, the state’s school choice program has grown to over 100,000 participants. Known officially as Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, the program allows parents to take the money that would normally pay for their child's education at their neighborhood public school and apply it to another school of their choice. The money can also be used for home schooling.
Yee told The Center Square that she has been fighting for Arizona students for 30 years, citing her K-12 policy experience and her role in writing the state’s early school choice and charter school laws.
As Arizona state treasurer, Yee said she has “distributed more than $3.2 billion” to Arizona public schools.
Yee said she is a “strong supporter” of school choice, noting the state’s ESA program needs to be protected. She added she would ensure it is accountable and transparent to taxpayers and accused Horne of mismanaging the school choice system.
Yee said Horne is making decisions regarding the management of the ESA program without the Legislature’s authorization, which violates state law.
On top of this, Yee also said there have been some questions about “the authorization of funds that came from the Legislature to help the Department of Education and the superintendent better administer the program.”
Horne told The Center Square that he established two rules for how families can use their money: Payments need to be for valid educational purposes and be at a reasonable cost.
“I believe very strongly in the ESA program, and I believe it will only survive if it’s honest. If parents want to use education money for non-educational purposes, it would destroy the program,” he said.
The Center Square previously reported that the estimated error rate for ESA payments is 1%.
If Horne is reelected, he said his primary focus will be continuing to help schools perform better academically.
Yee, who served in the state Legislature from 2011 to 2019, told The Center Square that Arizona deserves a better education system.
To improve reading and math scores, she said she would “bring back phonics-based reading instruction” and support mathematics instruction without calculators.
Horne and Yee both support increasing teacher pay.
In terms of fundraising, Horne has the advantage of cash on hand over Yee, $805,360 to $243,713, according to records from the Arizona Secretary of State's Office.
Horne’s campaign has gathered $737,267 in total donations. Twenty-five percent of these donations came from individual contributions: $183,989. The superintendent has received $1,000 from political committees.
The vast majority of these campaign funds are coming from loans made to the committee, totaling $551,000. This represents 75% of Horne’s campaign funds.
Yee’s campaign took in $163,331 in individual contributions, accounting for 51% of her campaign funds. In total, she collected $317,794 in campaign funds.
Yee has gotten $9,300 from political committees. She transferred over a cash surplus of $144,434 from a previous committee to fund her superintendent campaign. This represents 45% of her total campaign funds.
Democratic primary candidate Newby told The Center Square that the state’s Department of Education has “struggled for decades.”
The behavior analyst said he “can bring a fresh look and some ideas” that will “allow the Department of Education and public schools in Arizona to prosper."
If elected, Newby said he would attempt to roll back the universal aspect of the ESA school choice program.
He noted he supports the use of ESA funds for kids with special needs.
According to Newby, stricter guidelines for the ESA program are needed to provide “more transparency and accountability to the program.”
Despite being against the ESA program, Newby said he is a “firm believer in school choice.”
“How we pay for that school choice is where we need to have a better definition of what that looks like and how we’re funding those opportunities,” he said.
The Center Square reached out to Ruiz, but she did not respond before publication time.
As a candidate, she supports changes to the state’s ESA program, including eliminating the “automatic approval of ESA expenditures” for amounts under $2,000, according to her campaign website.
She also supports reigning in spending on the state's ESA program, her website says.
Ruiz is a proponent of increasing Arizona’s spending on K-12 public education and establishing universal pre-K, according to her campaign website.
Both Newby and Ruiz support raising teachers’ pay.
Newby has a cash-on-hand fundraising advantage over Ruiz: $108,940 to $94,368, according to the Arizona Secretary of State's Office.
Newby has received $1,129 in individual contributions and no donations from political committees.
A $125,000 loan made to Newby’s campaign accounts for 98% of his campaign funds. In total, his campaign funds add up to $127,399.
Ruiz has received $173,639 in individual contributions, representing 93% of her total campaign funds. She has collected $187,515 in total.
Political committees have given her $2,600.
Polls for the Arizona primary will be open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. MST on July 21. For early results that evening, see thecentersquare.com/arizona.
For more information, visit the Arizona Secretary of State's Office website, azsos.gov/elections.
Commented