Dems in Superintendent Debate Battled Over Vouchers, Rural Student Needs: Blog

Altogether, a fairly standard and less-than-controversial debate tonight. Ruiz came to the debate tonight with multiple plans and seemed much more polished than Newby. But Newby got some good points in on rural schooling that could have gotten him above Ruiz on that front.

As for my drink roundup: I counted finishing 1.5 Nutrl's. I might have missed a few baby sips along the way. But my money is on tomorrow night's debate between current Superintendent Tom Horne and Kimberly Yee might have a lot more chugging involved.

We'll see you here tomorrow night at 6 p.m. for the Republican primaries.

Small sip, Ruiz mentioned "collaboration." Technically the game said "bipartisan" collaboration — but we live in Arizona. We know what that means.

Newby is running heavily on expanding CTE (Career and Technical Education) programs in the state. For those who need a primer: those are programs teaching trade and workforce skills include welding, nursing, automotive, cybersecurity, aviation, and coding.

So far neither candidate has mentioned Tom Horne's name, directly — only as "the current superintendent." Which is an interesting play. Also it sucks for our game because I really thought that's how we were going to lose our mental faculties.

Horne said in 2023 that social and emotional learning was not part of the "core education" of schools, and aimed to get rid of it. Last year, he stripped D.E.I. language from teaching standards.

Keep in mind that Republicans passed a mental health education law in 2021 that the MAGA-wing of the Republican party are trying to repeal. That has gained traction in the legislature as social and emotional learning has been lumped in as "D.E.I." without any evidence.

A note on Arizona's school make up: 2022 numbers showed that 47% of students in AZ schools are Hispanic — 5% more than White students.

A note on early childhood learning: plenty of research shows that getting kids into school early, especially in pre-school programs, lowers poverty, recidivism, and negative social health outcomes. Here's a 2024 study from the University of Virginia that dives into it: https://education.virginia.edu/news-stories/investigating-long-term-effects-early-childhood-education

Former math teacher, grab a sip!

Another big drink, every child every zip code!

That counts as a big drink, asking the Dems if they support school choice.

School Resource Officers has been a contentious discussion. Progressive Democrats want less security on campus, but there has been increased problems in safety. Arizona actually ranks 47th in student safety. Horne is currently seeking $40 million in increased funding for safety.

What's been interesting so far has been seeing the very different approaches of these two people on the debate stage. Ruiz definitely feels like she's coming from a place of more plans -- Elizabeth Warren style. While Newby seems to more have ideas.

Teacher pay is actually near the bottom nationally in Arizona, if you adjust for inflation, according to a 2026 Consumer Reports analysis.

"TEACHER SHORTAGE"! DRINK!

Technically there have been a few hiccups in the livestream, so that should be two full drinks y'all should finish. I'm settling with half a drink.

Newby says there would be a lot more oversight. Currently, there has been oversight, mainly through public media reports. What media reports have shown has been money spent on things for parents who are homeschooling their kids, or children who already attended private schools. So, shout out to independent media there.

Oh, because teacher shortage was brought up, make sure to get a few sips in.

The teacher's "snitch line" got brought up. That was launched in 2023 to much hubbub by Tom Horne, who was trying to eradicate diversity education inside of public schools.

Arizona has long faced a teacher shortage. According to the state's department of education, more than 1,000 teachers have left the profession. In 2022, an ASU study found that more than 70% cited low pay. The average pay is $65,000.

One thing that was taken off the drinking list was Ruiz's mention of "35 years in the classroom" That would have been the second sip of the night.

We're already starting off with the differences between Newby and Ruiz. Ruiz seems more poised out of the gate. But also, we got our first sip of the night with Ruiz's mention of leadership.

Alright, LOOKOUT readers. We're starting the night. About 20 minutes out from the debates, and I've got two cans of Nutrl, and a few bottles of water at the ready (because I'm almost 40 years old).

Tonight should be a fairly straight-forward night from Democrats. We're expecting some digs at Tom Horne, the current Superintendent of Public Instruction, as well as possibly some lashing out at state lawmakers for not pushing for more funding of public schools.

As a primer, Arizona has seen a smattering of public school closures over the past year. Many signs point to the expansion of the school voucher program which has ballooned the costs of state spending (though it hasn't increased the spending-per-student average that advocates would like to have seen).

And while Horne has been in power, student readiness hasn't increased under his leadership. Recent reports from Consumer Reports show Arizona is ranked dead last (or close to last) in almost every measure — which is the same place, and in some cases worse, than when Horne came into power.

We'll dive into those numbers if they come up. But until then, settle in.