Idaho Superintendent election impacts Idaho’s educational future
Midterm elections are coming soon and with them comes an opportunity to make a change in Idaho’s educational structure — or at least ignite interest in a failing system.
The race for the next Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction began in January, when current Superintendent Tom Luna said he wouldn’t seek re-election this year.
It would have been Luna’s quest for a third term. However, after a tumultuous two terms, Luna said he didn’t want a re-election campaign to distract from education reform efforts in the state. This is a mild answer from a guy who was largely unpopular following his quest to implement the infamous — and since repealed — Luna Laws.
Despite his polarizing education reform efforts, Luna brought ideas to the table and made an effort to change education in a state where resources are lacking. While Luna’s efforts angered teachers’ unions, many Idahoans were in favor of his efforts to privatize education. He may not have been everybody’s favorite leader, but he made an effort to bring change and had a passion for education in the state.
Luna’s downfall was a lack of perspective and an ability to connect with people in the system who matter — the teachers and students.
As voters are tasked with electing Luna’s replacement, their options are limited. Candidates Sherri Ybarra and Jana Jones have advanced their campaigns with headline-making antics and vocal jabs at each other and at Luna.
Ybarra, a Republican, has spent time as a classroom teacher, assistant principal, principal, federal programs director and curriculum director. Democratic candidate Jones, a former deputy superintendent of public instruction under Marilyn Howard, has worked in education her entire professional career.
Whoever is elected will need to work to unify the interests in the state, in order to bring tangible change. Those interests include the unions Luna isolated, the legislators who have made clear their priorities don’t lie in improving education funding and Idahoans who continue to advocate for in-home, church-based education. Whoever is elected needs to be an outspoken advocate for education, rather than simply buying into the insistence of state leaders that there are simply no more resources to go around.
Idaho is 49th in the nation for education spending per student, a statistic that is neither new nor surprising.
Republicans in the state have repeatedly said they can’t provide additional funding for the system because there isn’t any left, but the reality of the situation is they refuse to fund it. Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter has maintained his unrealistic campaign for not increasing funding via taxation. Yet the idea of running a system without increasing resources is impossible and unreachable.
If Idaho voters want to see an improvement in the education system, they have to find it in themselves to contribute — even if it means implementing education taxes to supplement a system that only continues to fall further behind.
It may be a lot to ask for in a state that takes pride in its conservative roots, but if voters want to see actual change they’ll need to consider their options, and make their choice based on more than the parenthetical R next to a candidate’s name.
–KK